Why you must start now

It's hard to know how to innovate these days. Everything is a bit upside down. It's possible that the world of work tomorrow will not need us at all, and that lack of knowing is making us all a little crazy. We are already hearing about #AI burnout well before we have had the benefit of all that relaxation time and universal basic income. What's a person to do when the lifespan of their skills falls below the average job tenure.

Ironically what will serve us the best in navigating this uncertainty is a combination of agency and mindset. Recognizing the opportunity that uncertainty brings and understanding the component parts to thriving in a world of unknowing.

One way to prepare for multiple possible futures is to begin to think about and name them. Amy Webb and Melanie Subin broke this strategic foresight process down in their SXSW session.

Ethan Mollick goes further in this amazing blog showing how you can use #AI to help you.

The reality is personal and organizational adaptability will need to evolve dramatically. We need to increase our ability to adapt our tools, processes and jobs to stay relevant -- quickly. Investing in growth mindset, data driven experimentation and psychological safety for ourselves and our organizations are going to be the investments that have the highest ROI in this middle state.

In a world that values adaptation those who have invested in cultural agility will be best placed to thrive no matter how things change. The tricky bit is, the definition of expertise is going to change dramatically and that will likely cause real emotional challenges for those of us who perceive ourselves to be experts.

Instead of waiting for clarity, start adapting now but measure success in the following categories

1. Is my team developing new skills and investing in new ways to improve our business
2. Is my team finding paths to 10x improvements for the same or less cost
3. Is my team building data driven insights to inform ongoing experimentation and learning
4. Is my team building confidence in their learning agility or are they afraid of failure
5. Is my team taking on bigger challenges every quarter in service of new business breakthroughs
6. Are we building the right kind of feedback loops to evolve our strategy and execution as new opportunities are uncovered

The point of getting started now is not to find the perfect solution. It is to build the core capabilities to thrive in the reality of this unknowable future. Building an adaptive culture will pay off in both the near term and the long term. When you harness the power of collective intelligence and a growth mindset you are already head and shoulders above most organizations.

Giving people agency to lean in and get started on the future needs of your business, will leverage the real renewable resource - human potential.

Doing hard things is uncomfortable but that discomfort is what helps you grow and building confidence in your own ability to figure things out is exactly what will help you as everything turns upside down.