How To Think About The Future In Uncertain Times!
Today the world faces a common enemy, yet the individual challenges are different. All of us are gripped with the same uncertainty—fear of unknown future and the present has a crisis for which we don’t have ways and means to solve it.
Best of the industries around us are standstill with production, demand, and supply chain on a halt. Experts are comparing it with events like World War- II. To me, this looks more severe than world wars. During the world war, battles were fought at the war front; soldiers had known arms and ammunition. Here we are fighting the unknown enemy with an idea of right ammunition. Part of the world was still going on as usual with their business during world wars. Today we don’t have a single country spared from this pandemic. Every industry, every country, every human being is shaken with the impact of COVID-19.
We didn’t see it coming, we knew, we were aware but never realized the impact in totality till this torpedo rolled over us.
Today, we are forced in shell, need to be domesticated. Cut our social ties. Be home, and wait for chain to break, wait for the cure to be found, waiting to go back to the world we knew.
But, will the world be the same after COVID-19. I highly doubt it. The way we lead our lives, the way we work, the way we consume, the way we look at the environment, the way we look at our healthcare it will all change. And it should otherwise before we know enormous and more massive pandemic will take us all down without having a chance to save ourselves.
Way forward :
- Startups, innovators, and next decade disruptors will be the one who reimagines business with healthcare and sanitation, cloud solutions, video conferencing, mental health.
- Second world countries will have to put health care in accelerated and inclusive.
- Brands and advertisers have a more significant responsibility. Communication needs to be humane more than ever.
- Business practices will have to accommodate uncertainty and keep more substantial reserves on hand.
Having realized the difference between what we need and what we want is going to bring a lot of change collectively at an individual level. That is revelation hope makes considerable changes in the future of consumption.
Every other person we talk these days says, ” let’s wait and watch what happens,” ” everything depends on when the lockdown is going to be over. ”
The present holds challenges no one warned us about or prepared us for, which brings us to even more challenging question what about the future? Should you even think about the future? Why not.
We are wired with hope in our minds. ( link ) ; However, gloomy, dark, and depressing today is, there is tomorrow coming. And coming with hope for betterment, chance to redeem what is lost. Our optimism bias is going to be one of the biggest strengths. ( Link ) It is the time when real survivors and visionaries will see through current times and work on an uncertain future.
Meanwhile, living comes back to normal, will bring back another kind of rush and unpredictable urgency and force. People would want to bounce back; productions would want to go back; everyone will start looking for consumers and demand. In that transit, there is a high possibility to forget meaningful learning and the opportunity of calm planning that the current situation allows.
The critical question now is, can you plan for the future, think about possibilities at such times?
So, how do we look at our future :
- Look for the larger purpose :
Every business is facing lost revenue, vanishing profits, immediate opportunity losses. At times even survival is also on question for many businesses. Professional fear job loss or lack of regular salaries as their companies get into a difficult spot.
We can look beyond and see our career, jobs, and business with a larger purpose it aims to serve. Evaluate how well we have been standing true to that.
As a business, can we draw with stakeholders a simple charter of purpose? Purpose of organization beyond profits, can it be human-centric. Can we define our professional lives beyond what a job has to offer?
Look at your future with a larger purpose and define your goal. The current time allows you to do that. Grab that opportunity.
- Use the opportunity to redesign :
In the present, the way you spend your time as a professional or the way you handle your customers as a business. Here is your chance to redesign that.
If you lost a considerable amount of business or as a professional, if you lose your job time to redesign your future, today teaches us the importance of essential. Being essential to your customer, if that is not at the core of your service or product focus, the current situation will uphaul you from your comfort and harm you harder. Every professional whose performance was shadowed, or work redundant but in your own satisfaction if you failed to see that will be hurting hard.
Take COVID19 as an opportunity to redesign your service standards, your professional standards, your rules. There is no harm to redesign your life like well-designed product with apt user feedback on usability ( please take the analogy positivity not personally )
- Take control of the future starting from today :
Simple vision rule object seen with close proximity won’t be sharp or complete. Take a step back, keep it at a distance and readjust the focus.
‘Future’ today needs similar treatment. Take a step back to look at your own future with a revised focus. It is there, very much there just needs readjustment for your vision.
Don’t forget while you do it all stay safe, and stay home.
Stay live to make your future happen.
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