Not Normal is a Sin!
NOT NORMAL IS A SIN!
Normal = a vegetative state where nothing new happens.
Ever since lockdown-living blanketed our world in March 2020, there has been a journalistic and consulting frenzy to describe life hereafter. First, it was “the new normal” which quickly morphed into “the next normal.” As the date of recovery kept getting kicked down the road, again and again, catchphrases like “next future”, ''future next”, “the new awakening”, “the great reevaluation”, and dozens of others popped up.?
About midway through our prolonged aspirational journey to get “back to normal,” reality suggests that our future normal may never be normal. Consequently, I coined the descriptor Never-Normal about a year ago. It must be sticky because every day I now receive a dozen media alerts that reference “never normal.”
Maybe that’s because the evidence is pretty clear that we’re not out of the clear yet. As the U.S. and Europe seem to be reopening, China and other countries are shutting down. A new variant is on the loose - and so is inflation as well as an ice shelf in East Antarctica. And by the way, have you heard anything about the “skirmish” going on in eastern Europe??
Part of the problem is our human addiction to certainty. We have been hardwired to seek normal which is really nothing more than a vegetative state where nothing new happens.?
In the past, we got away with clinging to normal. Change happened slower and slowly. We could outlive it. The world was less connected. We could ignore it. Not normal was such an outlier in the 1950s, anything but normal was considered a sin!
Because I’m chronologically a “geezer” making the 1950s? just history (and not a memory) for many of you reading this, let me just describe what was “normal” less than 50 years ago.
My grandfather was a very successful entrepreneur and businessman. He was loved by everyone who knew him.? And yet many people remember him as “cripple.” His physical deformity?? He had a limp. Anything shy of perfection was not normal.?
White was normal. Other colors weren’t. And almost any form of mental illness meant you were “crazy” and required you were put away in an institution.??
Here are a few more “normal” things back in the day when Baby Boomers were kids:
Fast forward to the present. We still have a long way to go when it comes to equality, respecting differences, and diversity. Fortunately, it is now normal to see more women in college than men, to have a female attorney or physician, and to sit down next to a person of color no matter where you are or how you travel. Signs proudly displaying “Whites Only” and “N****s not Allowed” are no longer normal.?
Today, our lives can be existentially altered in a heartbeat. Holding onto normal can be personally and professionally catastrophic. What is now normal is perpetual and maximum VUCA (Volatile-Uncertain-Complex-Ambiguity.) Unfortunately, when fixated upon getting back to normal or seeking new normal, normal becomes the sin.
It’s time to move forward. But forward is not a destination. It’s a journey. It starts with seeing Never-Normal as a life filled with possibilities and opportunities, not threats and challenges.?
Your Never-Normal journey starts here.
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Listen to "The Everywhere Workplace in a Never-Normal World"
71% of workers said they would give up a promotion to work from anywhere!
Remember the good old pre-pandemic days when people woke up, showered, got dressed, crawled through long commutes, and searched for a coveted parking spot, just so that they could sit at a desk in a building to do work?
Today, workers demand flexibility - to work from everywhere, anywhere, at any time. Building an Everywhere Workplace is not just an essential talent strategy. To navigate the labor market in this Never-Normal era, it's essential you can differentiate the opportunities from the landmines.
As the worst of the pandemic seems to be falling behind us, it's doubtful anyone will be surprised to learn the long-anticipated return to normal has been anything but predictable, adequate, or normal.
That is certainly true when one observes the back-to-work initiatives. What do workers say about hybrid work, remote work, and in-person work? How do women, men, and different generations feel? No matter the approach, what steps must companies take to ensure their system networks are secure and employees enjoy an optimal digital experience?
Listen in to this special edition of The Geeks Geezers Googlization Show when we were joined by Ivanti’s CEO Jeff Abbott and Global VP David Shepherd to discuss the results of the just-released Ivanti Everywhere Workplace Report.
AQplus Growth Mindset Coaching?is now available.
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Founder and COO at CognitivePath | Helping Organizations Create Strategic Advantage with Artificial Intelligence.
2 年"About midway through our prolonged aspirational journey to get “back to normal,” reality suggests that our future normal may never be normal. Consequently, I coined the descriptor Never-Normal about a year ago. It must be sticky because every day I now receive a dozen media alerts that reference “never normal.” Spot on -- erm, mostly. While I'm not so vain as to think anyone is hanging on my every word, I'm not so sure you coined the term. My book, Never Normal, in which the title essay essentially makes the same argument (that we're not going back to normal and some new or next normal is not arriving any time soon, if at all - and always-on adaptability is the path forward - I'm an AQai coach as well!) was published in August 2020. So a tad more than a year ago. And since around that time, my trademark application for the term "never normal" in relation to publishing, consulting and coaching has been winding its way through the sloooow system, held up by the possibility that another consultant may have actually coined the term in 2019! So, at a minimum, I'll assume that great minds tend to think alike. :-)