Learn to Grow Shorts: The Long and Short of Learning

I Loved Anna’s question because one of the things we have to do is to reconcile our short and long term goals – in the short term, how do we make sure we get through a really challenging time when so much is unpredictable, when it comes to the demand for our services, the economy, etc. Balancing the short and long term is tricky. There is the initial survival mode, making sure everyone is safe and secure and that business continues.  Eric Ries says, “The only way to win is to learn faster than everyone else”. Who will learn most quickly in a time that rewards agility, adaptivity, and creativity in the face of change and disruption? But then again, we need to transition away from thinking about things in the short term – at some point we won’t be putting band aids. Some transitions that organizations believed might take years, maybe even a decade, happened within a couple of weeks. Take remote working, for example. That happened within the space of two weeks and has generally been so successful that many will not return to a If that’s true, what other things can we do better? How can we be productive while helping our employees lead rewarding, fulfilling lives? And then, what are those long-term plans? Changing the culture at an organization can begin with small gestures that have big picture significance down the line, but it also takes time! Transformations don’t happen overnight. But this is an opportunity to reassess the way we do lots of things. The culture at our organization, the way we communicate, the way our teams work together, the way we deliver our services. What an amazing opportunity to build more effectively and efficiently towards the future. Where will we be in 6 years, what an interesting thought experiment. How do you imagine your best self? What does your organization’s best self look like in 6 years? How will you look back on the massive disruption that was 2020 and think, man, without that, we probably would have continued doing a whole bunch of things that we now know were not good for our company or our people. These are the opportunities we have now. Thanks for taking the time to listen!