As I read and ponder, it's obvious that continuous and never-ending improvement, renewal and rejuvenation is the name of the game, while living in today's VUCANT world.

 A smart advisory:

''... Being agile or staying proactive is no longer enough in an increasingly competitive global business environment.

In a world that’s moving at an unprecedented rate, it takes something more – the ability to take a sudden burst of insight about the future and use it to produce a new and radically different way of doing things – solving problems, crafting must-have products, creating high-demand services or building new businesses... ''

~ Daniel Burrus, technology forecaster and business strategist; 

Just as my favourite global technology futurist Daniel Burrus puts it:

• “Your FUTUREVIEW will determine the FUTUREYOU.”
• “You can thrive in the future if you understand what is shaping it today.”
• “The visible future is the part of the future that you can clearly see.”
• “When planning for the future, remember that the present is obsolete.“
• “Dwelling on current reality reinforces sameness. Dwelling on future goals reinforces action.”
• “The ability to anticipate the future provides the biggest competitive advantage.”
• “Change is opportunity.”
• “You cannot stop change, but you can shape it to your advantage.”
• “Future success depends on the strategic decisions you make today.”
• “Time is the currency of the new economy.”
• “When you see the future before others, you have an advantage.”
• “Don’t just anticipate your customer’s future needs, create them!”
• “The decisions of today must be based on the facts of tomorrow.”
• “When we see change as a positive challenge, we will respond with constructive action.”

In a nut shell, always be Change-Ready and Future-Savvy!

Enjoy your reading, exploration and assimilation!

From the opportunity-sensitivity standpoint, I like to append herewith a wise message from global technology futurist Daniel Burrus.

"It is important that all business leaders and executives find their way in becoming the force of change in their industry from inside their company rather than watching change disrupt them from the outside world."

To me, his astute observation applies equally for any professional who wants to stay relevant in today's VUCANT world.

As a matter of fact, it reminds me of what former GE Chairman & CEO Jack Welch once said:

"When the rate of change outside exceeds the rate of change inside, the end is in sight.“

To paraphrase Dr Maxwell Maltz writing in his Psycho-Cybernetics classic:

"What is opportunity, and when does it knock? It never knocks. You can wait a whole lifetime, listening, hoping, and you will hear no knocking. None at all.

You are opportunity, and you must knock on the door leading to your destiny.

You prepare yourself to recognize opportunity, to pursue and seize opportunity as you develop the strength of your personality, and build a self-image with which you are able to live -- with your self-respect alive and growing."

Putting all these astute observations together and taking a deep drive into what Daniel Burrus has highlighted in the preamble, here are my personal thoughts:

• Be prepared, by relentlessly increasing our  skills and competencies;
• Learn to develop a strategic eye and long-range vision in looking at emerging trends (Daniel Burrus calls it strategic anticipation);
• Constantly talk to knowledgeable persons, including our customers, suppliers and facilitators like bankers,  in and out of our industry;
• Continuously expand our strategic portfolio via cross-skilling, up-skilling, re-skilling and even expert-skilling initiatives via the cycle of learning, unlearning and relearning;
• Pay attention to what's happening and even what's not yet happening (be anticipatory, as Daniel Burrus loves to put it);
• Be inquisitive, and ask a lot of questions!
• Read, read and read widely and deeply, as well as differently;

In summing up, I like to draw intellectual cues from Dr Maxwell Maltz:

"Self improvement is the name of the game, and your primary objective is to strengthen yourself, ... "

Godspeed!

In conjunction with the nice piece of writing as appended at the bottom of this post, I like to quote  from global technology futurist Daniel Burrus.

"It is important that all business leaders and executives find their way in becoming the force of change in their industry from inside their company rather than watching change disrupt them from the outside world."

To me, his astute observation applies equally for any professional who wants to stay relevant in today's VUCANT world.

As a matter of fact, it reminds me of what former GE Chairman & CEO Jack Welch once said:

"When the rate of change outside exceeds the rate of change inside, the end is in sight.“

To paraphrase Dr Maxwell Maltz writing in his Psycho-Cybernetics classic:

"What is opportunity, and when does it knock? It never knocks. You can wait a whole lifetime, listening, hoping, and you will hear no knocking. None at all.

You are opportunity, and you must knock on the door leading to your destiny.

You prepare yourself to recognize opportunity, to pursue and seize opportunity as you develop the strength of your personality, and build a self-image with which you are able to live -- with your self-respect alive and growing."

In a nut shell, we have to become the force of change in order to stay relevant in today's VUCANT world! 

And change represents an opportunity to either celebrate or commiserate… to rise above or self-destruct. 

Godspeed!

Watch These Three Trends, Act Accordingly, and See Your Business Excel 

Just sharing a nice excerpt from Harvard Business Review, one of my almost daily fav reading sources:

"... Your personality, skills, likes, and dislikes change over time — but that change isn’t out of your control.

What can you do to become the version of yourself that you most want to be?

Start by acknowledging the differences between your past, current, and future selves.

Next, imagine your desired future self:

Set goals that are as clear and specific as possible to maximize your chances of achieving them.

Finally, develop (and re-develop) an identity narrative consistent with the person you want to become — and share that story with others!

Your identity drives your behavior, which over time creates your personality.

So start acting like the best version of yourself, and you will become that person."

Global technology futurist Daniel Burrus sums up best!

Just as global technology futurist Daniel Burrus puts it, the name of the game today is to embrace and practise the Art and Discipline of Strategic Anticipation!

THE ABILITY TO ANTICIPATE THE FUTURE PROVIDES THE BIGGEST COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Interestingly, author-filmmaker-futurist Joel Arthur Barker, has exhorted this line of thought as far back as the 80's, when he wrote his magnum opus, "Discovering the Future: The Business of Paradigms".

In fact, he highlighted two other important forward-thinking aspects: the quest for excellence and the pursuit of innovation.

That was my nascent entry into future studies.

A SMART ADVISORY FROM TECHNOLOGY FUTURIST DANIEL BURRUS

A Smart Advisory: "To See the Future More Clearly, Think Both/And"

"... We tend to greet innovation with an either/or assumption, either we use the old or the new. 

But this is not an either/or world we live in; it’s a both/and world—a world of paper and paperless, online and in-person, digital and analog, old media and new media...

... When looking at new technology, remember the Both/And Principle and focus on integrating the old with the new to create more value than either have by themselves... "

~ technology futurist Daniel Burrus;

For me, a good example is: I do quick hand-crafted diagramming sketches of salient points, whenever I read/review books and/or online magazine articles in my large ideas scratchpad.

When I need to do presentation, I transcribe some of them into fancy and colourful pieces with the aid of available software-based mapping tools like SmartDraw Pro, MindManager or VisiMap Pro.

Both ways, comprising the old and the new methods, serve their unique purposes.

GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE ABOUT THE FUTURE!

That's right!

In fact, this nice quote of technology futurist Daniel Burrus reminds me vividly of what author-filmmaker-futurist Joel Arthur Barker has said back in the nineties:

"It is the future where our greatest leverage is. We can't change the past, although, if we are smart, we learn from it.

Things happen in only one place - the present, and usually we react to those events.

The space of time in the present is too slim to allow for much more.

It is in the yet-to-be, the future, and only there, where we have the time to prepare for the present."

HOW TO STAY ON TOP OF EMERGING TRENDS

Just like to share a beautiful and elegant article on building one's anticipatory prowess, as it touches on the brass tacks of execution. 

'How to Stay on top of Emerging Trends'

by Jorge Barba, who calls himself, a global Innovation Insurgent.

To me, it is much better written - I mean, less abstract - than what technology futurist Daniel Burrus has written earlier, touching in similar vein in his article, "The New Principle of Leadership'. 

BEING AGILE OR STAYING PROACTIVE IS NO LONGER ENOUGH...

I like what I am reading:

"... Being agile or staying proactive is no longer enough in an increasingly competitive global business environment. 

In a world that’s moving at an unprecedented rate, it takes something more:

– the ability to take a sudden burst of insight about the future and use it to produce a new and radically different way of doing things – solving problems, crafting must-have products, creating high-demand services or building new businesses... "

~ technology futurist Daniel Burrus;

You may want to read his latest article:

'The New Principles of Leadership'

Interestingly, he takes his perennial favourite topics, cyclical vs linear, hard trends vs soft trends, for a new spin to convince businessfolks to focus more on building anticipatory prowess as a leadership imperative, instead of harbouring on agility.