No Doom, No Gloom - it’s time for Learned Optimism!

The COVID - 19 Crisis had been unprecedented -A Black Swan event that has severely disrupted the lives of people across the globe, infected many, disrupted Businesses the world over with a growing impact on the World Economy. 

We have in the past 5 weeks in India split hair on this Unprecedented situation and the growing implications -for the Business world, for individual Livelihood and Health! 

Every single day we are being inundated with stories of despair, theories of the impending Impact of this Global Pandemic -that are naturally  generating high levels of Fear and Anxiety of the unknown. This incredible incident appears to have turned the entire world upside down, as each country braces itself against the impact on individuals , on families, the society, the Business World, including the Geo-political implications that invariably arise from this Crisis.  

The disruption however this time threatens Human Life , causing wide-spread panic emerging from a deep set of existential questions on Human mortality, Human fragility, even as we struggle with the unknown repercussions on future livelihood and Continuity. The norms for surviving, what is apparently unfolding as the New World- the Survival Toolkit so to speak, appears to be Focussed on expecting and preparing for the Worst- a Life of hardships, human tragedy accentuating the unknown, and worse, calling out the impending doom and gloom everyday - in a state of Fear and Helplessness! 

These include - impending losses to expect in terms of human life and depending on the unending duration of the crisis - the destructive impact on Health , Climate Conditions, Market Conditions and others. The Risk mitigation plans of many Organization’s include Scenarios that consider -losing their Entire Top Management teams, perhaps Heads of States for countries, and most importantly a constant fear and assumption that summarily all the formats, templates, play books that worked well in the usual world as we know it- will no longer apply in the New World that Unfolds….

Using the Pause to Cultivate Positive Perspectives 

I want to Pause here- to enable us to reconstruct and reconsider a more balanced approach to interpreting all that is happening around us- by acknowledging the fascinating times unfolding right here -right around us! While the Pandemic is a serious concern and there are undoubtedly serious precautionary measures required, - This phenomenon unfolding has the Power to Transform forever our standards of Health, Personal Safety, Hygiene, Immunity , Fitness, Family Values, Employment, Leadership and Innovation -among many other incredible Uses this Adversity could be put too- this incredible COVID - 19 Crisis. 

These are also opportune times to understand and explore and practise -Learned Optimism -an idea in Positive Psychology that advocates that the Talent for Joy or Happiness can be cultivated. Learning Optimism involves consciously challenging our own Negative Talk. Learned Optimism involves developing the ability to view the world from a Positive Point of View. This Optimism contrasts with Learned Helplessness which is the tendency to drown in Pessimism and lose the ability to move into Action to survive or overcome Adversity?! Learned Helplessness is developed through early childhood experiences of austerity/ lack of resources and sometimes financial insecurities over protracted periods-.which leads us to believe that the conditions around us are unlikely to change and are pervasive and Permanent in their power to destroy!! As a result there is a bias to Not challenge the Status quo, to not believe things Can Change/ Improve or that You can make a significant difference to Impact Your life outcomes- an External Locus of control perspective. 

Pivot with Optimism

Even as most of us are working from Home and are perhaps unable to decipher the impending magnanimity of a new future , even as Planet 2.0 unfolds- We do know now old Playbooks on Leadership or Managing Business Operations will need fresh perspectives in this new upcoming World! 

Many of us may not be cognisant of all the incredible incidents unfolding around us, through the quiet of the Lockdown and this Crisis. Even as segments of the Economy sit idle - there are incredible stories of Manufacturers swiftly shifting operations from their usual products and instruments to provide items necessary to fight the COVID - 19 crisis.

Automotive manufacturers reaching deep into their vast and complex Supply Chain to source hundreds of parts needed to make Ventilators - enlisting highly varied workforces to assemble them. Shoe-manufacturers using their stock materials in ways to produce high-quality face-masks. Whiskey distillers quickly shifting to make hand-sanitizers for Health care workers.

This ability to pivot operations quickly in the face of a crisis is what Human endeavour and Innovation is made of. Several Organisations that participated in one Survey admitted to seeing how Shared Purpose motivated the ability to remove barriers quickly and find ways to say -Yes we can! Multi-year Digital Programs are getting delivered in just Weeks now -in the face of this crisis- and old behaviours of resistances  are giving way to Partnership Mindsets!

Continuous Improvement Cultures are emerging where teams are now improving processes in real-time to find new solutions.

Companies that have invested well in R&D / New Technology, have their investments holding them in good stead in the face this Crisis. And those with a start-up inspired Response Cultures are nimble and are pivoting fast to provide for example Masks, or like one Organisation in the business of recyclable carpets and socks have responded swiftly to produce Gloves for Healthcare professionals.

Optimism is the Ingenuity of Human endeavour 

Needless to say, there is Optimism / Hope in this ingenuity of human endeavour- and at the centre of these incredible affirmative actions. These are indeed the key Leadership Traits most- wanted -the foundation for creating a Bias for action. "When the going gets tough - the tough Optimistic Leadership gets Going!! ‘

And to all the callers of Doom and Gloom claiming to be Realists- Unfortunately our modern notion of ‘Being Realistic’is much closer to standard Pessimism-i.e downplaying the good things and seeing the bad as inevitable. A Realist is someone who makes completely unbiased judgements and does not see things through a positive or negative filter. 

I recommend we regale ourselves meanwhile with stories of Human Positive Intentionality, Innovation, Positive Energy to Solve Compelling Problems, and most of all Compassion to alleviate Human pain. This is all that we really need more than ever before - Now as we awaken to the Positive Power of the new world!