6 minute read
CAN THE SPEED OF CHANGE BE INFINITE?
Gill Tiney
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I am struck by the speed of how our businesses are operating and the amount of information we are digesting on a daily scale. It is phenomenal! The more I know the more I realise how little I know and how much I don’t know!
That is why I ponder the question – can the speed of change be infinite?
It kind of feels like it already is!
For example, on social media one week a post will get 5,000 views the following week only 50 yes, the technology has been changed and all of our understanding of what makes a post generate great views comes tumbling down. We are constantly being told to innovate, are we ending up changing for changing sake? Have you too jumped from one CRM to another in the hope that this one will be easier, less complex, more intuitive? Then find that the reality is, had we stayed with the original CRM and spent some time learning the capabilities we might have got more from the facility and not needed to swap. We are always looking out for the ‘next best thing’ in the hope it will make our life easier – and it rarely is that magic app that makes all our problems fade away.
When I was younger there used to be a TV show called Tomorrow’s World and they would bring us latest innovations, we marvelled at their possibility knowing that in a generation or
maybe two, we would be having this technology in our homes and workplaces. I recently came across a blog on Mulesoft by Simon Parmett that highlighted
‘The reality is we now make major changes in six weeks, not six months’
And it is true, everything is happening at such a faster speed - even driverless cars that many saw as impossible in our lifetimes is actually happening already in the UK!
Interestingly Simon Sinek pointed out recently that just because it is innovation it does not mean that it is progress. He highlights the projector screen that used to be manually pulled down to use it and then someone made it possible to electronically lower and higher the screen. How many of us have come across those screens that refuse to come down because the mechanism is broken? If it isn’t broken don’t innovate the life out of it. As frustrating as keeping up with these innovations might be, there is a more sinister side to the race for improvement. In our workforces we now have the additional pressure of information overload, and constant email bombardment, added to learning new and updating current systems, how can we be expected to joyfully tackle the deluge?
Is it any wonder that stress, anxiety and depression are the consequences of this overload of technology and information?
What is the solution?
Well I believe we should take our solution from Mother Nature.
She works in cycles and through redefining and evolving she transforms what is not working into something that blossoms into life. By understanding the seasons, working with all life forms she allows individual and collective
growth. A natural collaboration.
What if we could view our businesses in this way?
What if there was no urgency to deliver end of year profits, projections, forecasts, targets and goals?
If the result was not only on customers well served but also on a happy and healthy workforce? Can we transform our never-ending striving to improve the bottom line? Last week I heard that in its history Marks and Spencer was returning a loss on the years trading. It was told as though that was a devastating piece of information, I find it amazing that this is the first year it has ever happened! Perhaps if we move away from the incessant growth mindset and focus instead on the happiness quota for staff and customer then the urgency to innovate will dissipate.
Is it time to slow down?
Remove the competitive element in business and the race ceases to be important. This is where collaboration can be so important to bring people together. By removing the first past the post and all that entails we can connect with others and come together to help each other in a holistic and nurturing way, to support each other and in turn, the environment we create.
Our pandemic has taught us that when there is a collective need, we do all come together, as a collaborative organism, to support those in need, as nature intended.
Where is the rush?
We are acclimatising and getting used to this speed – attention spans are getting shorter, there is a need for immediate gratification – food deliveries, anything deliveries, all at your fingertips on an app. What happened to patience, waiting weeks for your pen pal to reply to your letter (did you have one of those?) or waiting all week for the next episode of your favourite TV drama.
The pandemic taught us we didn’t have to rush around.
We revisited old skills, sewing, baking, DIY, being creative.
We discovered our mental health was better when we slowed down.
No surprise there.
Being isolated doesn’t suit us, we are social animals, but finding gratification in creative pursuits was a byword for mindfulness. Colouring in, doing a jigsaw, discovering crochet or baking your own bread became the dopamine feel good factor that built our mental good health and was suddenly cool. Do we need our world to be so fast? I think 2020 proved we don’t need to kill ourselves in living such a fast-paced life. The only people who need us to jump on that train are those chasing the money.
Let us observe how nature transforms itself. Slowly, supporting all living organisms along the way. What might our world look like if we followed that example? If we made sure everyone was looked after along the way.
Refresh and renew your mind, body and soul. Choose to be continually learning, discovering the meaning of your life by understanding what matters to you and following your chosen path. Don’t get swept up into a fast pace of life that doesn’t serve you.
We only have one life. Pace yourself.
Know what is important or more accurately WHO is important to you and work on that relationship. Refresh the love you had, renew your purpose to help others and discover the power of nature as she puts us back on track following a devastating year of uncertainty.
And if you can’t see that path forward, feel too caught up in the treadmill of an ever faster pace of life then contact us at Collaboration Global and know that whatever is weighing heavy on your heart you can find someone ready to listen and BE there for you. Together we can transform the paradigm of what it means to live a healthy, prosperous and successful life by living in love, connection and abundance. Good health is in your physical, emotional and spiritual well-being.
Prosperity is in the wealth of good relationships and contentment in your situation and success is measured by the happiness you feel from the life you have created for you and those you love.
You can contact Gill at:
Email: gill@collaborationglobal.org Telephone: 07798 601701 Website: www.collaborationglobal.org