What Is Your Concept Of Time?

I recently heard a fascinating presentation from Dr. Ben Hardy during the Business Transitions Summit(BTS), led by Tom Bronson , the visionary behind BTS and founder of Mastery Partners (of which I am a partner). The purpose of the Summit was to focus on the needs of business owners, many of whom often don't have time to work ON the business.

For those who don't know Ben Hardy, he's an organizational psychologist well known in the entrepreneurial world for his collaborations with Dan Sullivan, the leader of "Strategic Coach" and this year's keynote speaker.

I've also had the pleasure of reading many of his books, including 10X Is Easier Than 2X. In this book, the author presents a simple yet incredibly powerful concept: the power of impossible goals. I could write an entire series of newsletters on this topic alone, but it's something else he described which I also found so enlightening and what I want to bring back to telco.

The Concept of Time

What I'm about to explain isn't some new Einsteinian approach to time, but it may be just as profound and a bit more digestible.

Essentially, we think of time as a simple and path-dependent structure. Namely, the past creates the present, and the present creates the future. Under this model, the choices we made in the past led us here.

It sounds simple and makes sense, right? Unfortunately, it means we are locked into a world where we are tied (sometimes as victims) to our past - it makes it difficult to see how you can ever move forward.

Here's the really cool insight: that is not how the human mind actually behaves!

The Power of the Future

Every action you take in the present is a reflection of your beliefs about the future. For example, if you envision today that you will be in a leadership or ownership position in business in the future, you might be sitting in a business class. Your actions are motivated by your beliefs about the future even though they are unknowable and thus uncertain.

If you envision yourself in a loving relationship in the future, you will look to find a partner who truly "gets" you. If you intend to own a business and then have a big exit payday, you might talk to an exit planner (ahem, I do that, too).

Ultimately, even though we don't know what that future holds, we behave like we do! Thus, your powerful vision of that future drives your behavior and choices.

While your belief about the future influences the present, just as importantly, that present choice sets the framework for how you think about the past that led you to this point. The past doesn't relegate us to some choices; it has set the stage for us to make these choices to reach that future.

When you think about this, it makes perfect sense. When I was a kid wanting to be an engineer, I dreamed of that role. It led me to focus on math and science and attend a strong engineering program. Guess what? Right now most of my career is in business. Somewhere along the way, my vision of the future changed, leading me to business school and a series of career choices that enhanced that ability.?

Had I viewed my past as the future, I would still be doing engineering even if my interests changed along the way. As a result, I'm now a business person who can translate difficult technical issues into the "so what" for investors. Instead of the past influencing the present and the present influencing the future, the reality is the exact opposite!

The Relationship to Telco

Here's where I want to tie this point back to our industry. I admit it's a bit cheesy and maybe a "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy" moment, but I'll share it anyway.

In order to truly advance our industry, we need to stop thinking that the way we've known it for the past few decades will be the future. Who saw the iPhone coming? However, we all know its transformative impact across the entire ecosystem.

As leaders in our space, we need to reignite powerful visions of our future. The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) held its ConnectX conference this past week, and the general comments and analyst reports reflect a malaise from the lack of wireless capital spending. Many articles noted it's a matter of time before it changes, but they come across as trying to convince themselves of this fact vs. seeing an expansive future.

During the same week of ConnectX, the NTIA hosted an event to discuss creating a new paradigm in Open RAN with both commercialization and innovation in the radio unit through their latest NOFO. There was incredible interest and passion, and the dynamic was completely different.

We can't reconcile views of a stagnant industry while considering a transformative RAN future. Ultimately, which one wins is a function of how we see our future.

It's time we, as leaders, begin to reignite that vision and realize that achieving an amazing vision will require diligent work, time, and effort today but built upon our fantastic past.

Are your business decisions influenced by your past or your vision of the future?

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