Foresight

Foresight, I'm building mine, and admire those that have a good handle on it already.

Daniel Burrus' book Flash Foresight speaks to technological levers that are shaping our world. The reason that I'm writing about it is because of a simple but powerful word: AND.

While attending a conference with my former employer, I was blessed during Daniel's keynote. Up until that point, I grappled with the idea of where my profession was headed, with technology threatening to take my job (so I thought).

I was a Microsoft Certified Trainer with the world's largest privately owned software training company and held the sentiment, at the time, of hearing Daniel, that the flattening effect of technology would proliferate to the point I was no longer needed.

I thought my peers and I where on a runaway train, a wreck waiting to happen, and it was all beyond our (my) control.

During his keynote Daniel gave examples of how technological advances disrupted some industries and killed some companies. For example, he talked about the demise of Blockbuster video.

But then, he talked about companies like Barnes and Noble, and how, although technology turned the traditional publishing industry on it's ear, because Barnes and Noble shifted, adjusted to the times, it survives still.

The key take away (for me anyway) was, if businesses look into the future with flash foresight, they can make the correct adjustments to their business models, survive and even thrive in spite of technology disruptors.

And that, it is not zero-sum. Win-lose. One or the either. But both. This and that.

Aha!

He gave the example of cell phones and how people thought with their proliferation landlines would cease to exist. But that is not true. Sure, I haven't seen a public pay phone in eons, but, cell phones did not kill landlines.

Yes, the traditional publishing industry took a beating, but self-publishing, and publish-on-demand platforms did not completely kill it. We have both.

I applied his message to my life and career. From that day on, I never belabored the threat of obsolescence.

Check out his YouTube channel here.

#flashforesight #foresight #technology #disruption