Embrace These Chaotic Times to Be Successful.
These Transformational Times Are Ideal to Start a Business.
Humans are creatures of habit. We search for and embrace the familiar. It is critical that we derive meaning and order from our lives. In fact, we go out of our way to pursue the familiar. It’s why we stay in the same job for years, despite being unfulfilled professionally. It’s why so many people work in the same industry…out of fear of starting a new career in our middle years. Ever notice how you follow the same route to go to work and come home EVERY day? We eat the same type of food, and see the same types of movies. We are “creatures of habit.” But why?
The human species has evolved and adapted to extreme environmental duress, because we possess the ability to adapt successfully. Adapting to chaos and upheaval is embedded into our DNA. Humans MUST adapt in order to propagate the species. In the revolutionary book on how great companies fail: “The Innovator’s Dilemma“, innovation expert Clayton Christensen writes that even outstanding companies that do everything right can still lose market leadership or disappear completely. Focusing on “disruptive technology,” Christensen shows why most companies miss out on new waves of innovation.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” – Charles Darwin.
Nature demands that we change. Nature gravitates towards perpetual disorder. In science the term for a gradual decline into disorder is called “entropy.” So, why are we so resistant to change and why do we work so hard to avoid the unfamiliar, when finding new approaches is what ensures our survival?
What can you do if you are a business owner or business start-up and your organization is “stuck?” Are you too big to be a small business, but too small to be a big business? Then you are caught in the cross-hairs of change and how well you do (OR DON’T) adapt to change will impact whether you stay in business or not. Not all businesses go through successful transformations. Great article summarizes research by the Business Transformation Academy on why some companies do achieve amazing business transformation (think IBM from computers to consulting) and some don’t (Borders bookstore, circuit City, etc.)
The reality is, we are MOST successful when we embrace chaos and pursue change. Darwin got it right with his “survival of the fittest.” We humans live with one foot firmly planted in two separate two worlds. While we demand order in our lives, order is impossible to sustain. We thrive when we embrace change regardless of how painful it is to navigate through those turbulent waters. It is in our best interest that we aggressively pursue the unfamiliar. Humans are a direct result/product of the ability to evolve and adapt. Ever get really frustrated that things are done a foolishly outdated way at your work? when you ask why things are done a certain way do you cringe when someone replies: “That’s how it’s always been done around here.” Are you afraid of change? you can find tips on coping with change from noted motivational speaker Mike Robbins.
From chaos comes great opportunity for business start-up success, but only if we approach it as such. It does no good to run and hide from change as a potential threat to our existence. There are no guarantees in today’s global contract workplace. Organizations with hundreds of thousands of employees and offices in dozens of countries deemed too big to fail have done just that.
What does the future hold in store for us as we humans adapt? Who knows! But if we charge bravely into the unknown we are guaranteed to hit gold. By tackling the unfamiliar we are close to unraveling the mysteries of the human gene sequencing project. We have achieved tremendous advancements in technology such as artificial intelligence, supercomputers, robotics, fiber optics, splitting the atom, etc. Mankind has conquered space and the human brain. What if we were willing to boldly go where no man has ever gone before? We Americans should be undertaking ridiculously challenging projects to set our nation back on course.
Don’t listen to the Naysayers who tell you something can’t be done! Don’t buy into now NOT being the ideal time to start a business or pursue a new business venture. Don’t follow the herd like lemmings over a cliff. Run from the conventional wisdom. Be different! Take risks and dare to fail greatly.
Don’t ever believe you can’t change the world.
Be visionary. Be GREAT!