Never Static. Always Changing.

Never Static. Always Changing.

Check out these two hairstyles!

Back in 1974 short hair was, well, shorter than long hair! But by today’s standards, I reckon the ‘short’ haircut on the left isn’t that short.

What defined normal then isn’t what we’d call normal now.

How does change happen? I Googled ‘What causes hairstyles to change over time?’ Google says ‘popular culture’.

What shapes popular culture? Google says ‘youth’.

Which, if you think about it, makes sense. The exploratory, open-minded nature of younger people naturally leads to pushing against the status quo, and lots of different experiments. Some of which stick and go viral.


Substance vs. Style

Hair is genetically programmed to do what hair does. Its substance never changes.

Yet how hair looks changes constantly. Styles are ever-evolving.

Just like people. People, at their essence, do what people have always done. Yet the style of how people communicate, how people come together, and how people organise to get stuff done, is always up for evolution.

Which is a truth worth heeding if we're going to shape the future.

Our context, whether it be global, national, organisational, team, or our life, is likewise ever-evolving. And yet the future isn’t fixed. It’s malleable. We can shape it.

To shape the future you need a youth-like mindset. One that’s always looking for what could be possible, and is willing to try new ways. One that asks questions and follows where they lead.

Is that you?

Here are three questions you can ask to stay youth-like and shape the future:

  • What's never changing, and what's ever-changing?
  • What's up for an evolution now?
  • What might I / we try?


For more like this, check out:

From Problem-Solving to Possibility Thinking

Be a Childlike Grownup

要查看或添加评论,请登录

Digby Scott的更多文章

  • Use Creative Constraints

    Use Creative Constraints

    You might have heard the news lately that a Chinese-owned company has created a version of a large language model. It’s…

  • Three Practices to Stay the Course

    Three Practices to Stay the Course

    Remember your first day back at work this year? That surge of energy, those fresh plans, that sense of possibility? We…

  • How to be a Host

    How to be a Host

    I’ve found it useful to distinguish between two forms of leading: Hero-ing and Hosting. Hero-ing is when you put…

    13 条评论
  • Your Year by Design 2025

    Your Year by Design 2025

    The future you get tomorrow comes from the choices you make today. I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions.

    7 条评论
  • Give Less F@cks.

    Give Less F@cks.

    Last week I shared a post on LinkedIn that started with the line ‘Age is no barrier.’ It was about my most recent…

    13 条评论
  • Create Space for Sense-Making

    Create Space for Sense-Making

    Recently I was on a panel speaking with an audience of leadership development professionals. One of the best questions…

    9 条评论
  • The Let Go

    The Let Go

    Last week, I spent a morning listening to presentations from the latest graduates from my Change Makers programme. One…

    6 条评论
  • Are You Trying Too Hard?

    Are You Trying Too Hard?

    Do you ever feel like the way to get better results is to try harder? Here’s a story that might give you reason to…

    3 条评论
  • The Hunger Beneath

    The Hunger Beneath

    When life’s not going your way, it’s easy to feel despondent and angry. When I look around at the state of play in my…

    13 条评论
  • Ants and Systems Thinking

    Ants and Systems Thinking

    “Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.

    3 条评论

社区洞察

其他会员也浏览了