Transcending the Crisis – An Invitation

We have heard for some time now that change is the new normal, but what if what we consider to be normal is now changing? We can maybe consider that during this pandemic, which may be framed as a human crisis, that many of us are wondering what is the “new normal”? Many thought leaders have coined terms to describe this emergence such as Alhir: “absence of a normal”; Coppens: “ever normal”; Hinssen’s “never normal” or Cushman’s “better normal” (see Online Global Leadership Event)

But ultimately whatever we call the emergence of newness there is one human trait that endures, and it is the sense of indecision and uncertainty that we all feel as a result of this historic moment. Ambivalence. Our sense that on one hand we are excited by newness and the freedom that it can bring as we break out of old patterns, paradigms or cycles. On the other hand, we are filled with dread about the fear of the unknown and our inherent desire for order. 

This paradox around change often leaves people in states of “stuckness” as they are unsure what the next step to take is. Many leaders may be feeling that sense of stuckness right now as they come to terms with the next phase of their organisation’s evolution or maybe their own personal development. Many of us in the realms of business agility have been preparing our clients over the last 20 years or so for this moment and often with very different responses and levels of preparedness. 

In truth, the least agile of businesses will die. 

Similarly, many of us have simply used the label of “business agility” to advance something very different, a bit of resilience and antifragility and more, but under this more acceptable label (see Alhir's "The art of Risk-Taking" ). Nature can be a cruel teacher as many people will struggle as they retrospect on “what has just happened”. My sense is the business failure we are seeing is just the opening act. The real drama is fast approaching.

A move from quantitative to qualitative 

One may say that Taleb’s view () on antifragility can offer organisations hope – those that are poised to take advantage of the current disorder that prevails. From a personal perspective, many organisations have grown addicted to data over the last 10 years or so. But leaders need to be careful of the “Fooled by Randomness” effect described by Taleb ( here "Fooled by Randomness": data hides the failures. Rather than being totally quantitative in our approach, we ought to start to make room for the qualitative. 

How about we think a little like Judith Glaser (https://creatingwe.com/) who espoused “everything happens through conversations.” Using this approach may help us to not fall foul of what we are being fed by our media on a daily basis in the form of stats around unemployment figures or even conjecture about how we are heading for the worst economic crisis since the great depression (https://www.ft.com/video/fbaaa133-c94d-4e35-844b-bfde5f6a0635). We should maybe take the time to talk about the new reality that is emerging and there are places where you as a leader can do that at this forthcoming global leadership event entitled "Transcending the Crisis" (bit.ly/GlobalLeadershipEvent)

Or maybe we could go quantum …

Could we even go a step further than just talking about the new paradigm and start to shape it in the here and now? Generative discussions can be useful in that they can provide leaders with a range of options to assist them in emerging from or transcending the crisis.  However, conversations and talk in itself is not enough.

Personally, though, I have experienced huge benefit in taking a quantum approach to change, which is about taking action of a different kind as I connect with my changework. This means me taking greater responsibility for my change and the change that I want to see in the world and accepting my role as one small, but extremely important co-operative part of the greater whole. In quantum physics terms, this is referred to as entanglement and it is the basis upon which I feel we can make extraordinary change happen --- this is the emerging “ecosystem enterprise”.

Of course, it’s difficult to explain how we can utilise quantum physics in a short article and how it can help accelerate the bringing in of the new paradigm. I look forward to sharing more about this in future writings.

What next?

I’ve been told that the word crisis in Chinese consists of two characters, one that represents danger and the other representing opportunity. No doubt we all face great danger right now and not just COVID19; our environment is calling out for help and it would appear that unless we act now it may be too late. However, these crises also present us with a great opportunity to change what we don’t like about our old paradigms and to sow the seeds of the new. We must embrace the new and emergent rather than hold onto the continuity of the old.

If, like me, you are a leader who wants to make the most of this crisis then why not accept this invitation to join myself and others on 19th June to explore how we can all transcend the crisis.