Years ago, I was in a training class called “the zero paradigm.” The premise was, “it is much easier to facilitate change if you set aside all your assumptions and known facts of the world and start from…” you guessed it, zero.
Now as 1990’s as that sounds, it really comes down to continuously assessing the purpose of what you are trying to accomplish, the vision, and making sure it is still relevant and that the problem you are trying to solve still exists and is still the real problem.
This is why pivots are so important. How often do you see something delivered only to hear, “we already solved that problem” or “that’s great but if it solved “this” that would be really cool.” In fact, the entire reason for agile methodology is that as time moves forward, the vision, purpose, goals and problems all change. When working in an agile methodology, at least you have a chance of seeing the pivot or paradigm shift and not being a victim of it.
Keeping the vision general so you can pivot when things don’t work exactly as planned is important. It allows for changes in technology, infrastructure, materials, processes and, as we see so often in business and life, opinions.
I often think of the Space Program when I’m confronted with pivots and paradigm shifts.
The vision was bold and simple, “…we will land a man on the moon by end of this decade…”
No word on the how, not a mention of what technology or materials are needed, but just a vision that people could get behind and pivot when things didn’t go exactly as planned. How many pivots and shifts did the program go through before Neil Armstrong landed on the moon with a gas gauge that read empty.
The reason for going back now is interesting, the vision has changed. It’s no longer about getting to the place as much as it is using the place as a launching point to go somewhere else. If the vision had changed before Apollo 17 had launched, what would that future look like?
By now I hope all of you patient readers have gotten the point. Everyone’s point of view has meaning. Everyone’s point of view can have an impact on the multi-future universe of a family, a team, a company, our planet, our lives. All you must do is imagine it and tell someone. Who knows? You might just be the person to come up with What’s Next After Next.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tom Douglass is the founder and CEO of Catapult Consulting – LLC of Arkansas, a strategy and innovation consultancy.