In a recent booksale, I stumbled upon a publication that speaks of trendsetting and futuristic viewpoints, and after digesting most of what it had to say, my mental state went through an entire paradigm shift, which I would like to share with the readers of this blog.
Change thwarts the present, and the present resists the future. As human beings, we very much resist change, as it takes us out of our comfort zones into a whole new realm we find both unfamiliar and unpredictable, and our balls shrink at the thought of having to deal with such circumstances.
In many management bodies we encounter today, here in this little island called Singapore, a slight bit of observation would reveal a predominant style - Cling on to our winning formula, and make minor tweaks to it as time and space changes. We are focused largely on present day events, and expended the majority of our mental and physical efforts with meeting today's requirements, failing to realise that by doing so we block out the possibilities of "looking into the future".
Another mistake managers today constantly make is to hire people and expect them to "just follow instructions". Ths fatal mistake results in a horrible under-utilisation of mental resource within the company. Instand of having all the brains simultaneously work on a problem from different angles, we have one overloaded brain trying to solve problems coming in from all angles.
The key to attaining successful innovation is not to try to predict change, nor is it to increase our reaction speed to adapt to a new situation, but rather, to be the one to create change. Industry trendsetters embrace the opportunities bestowed by uncharted terrain, and seek to plough their way through, leaving paths for replicators to follow.
"Two roads diverged in the wood, and I took the one less travelled, and that made all the difference" - Robert Frost.
