One of my favorite things to do is go on a walk with my wife and son during my lunch break right before we put my son down for a nap. On a recent walk he joined us on his scooter.
As he rode ahead of us, he would look back to make sure we were still there. The moment he started to look back his scooter began to drift. He felt the swerve, looked forward, adjusted himself and then almost immediately looked back only to drift again.
With the uncertainty of the market and the new challenges in the world of AI, we are in the midst of massive change and ambiguity. Like my son, we tend to “look back” for certainty and comfort and can begin to swerve. We can lose sight of our destination or take much longer to get there.
In moments like these, we as leaders must look to the future and prepare the best we can for the complexity that is coming. Looking back to learn from the past is important but if we look to the past for comfort and stability we will drift and miss the mark. Those looking forward will learn faster and adapt more quickly to the changing environment.
Pause for a moment and ask yourself – where am I spending my time? Do I look back for comfort and certainty or am I looking forward to embrace whatever comes next? Once you answer that, what does this mean for you? What are you going to do about it?
