“The future is made for leaders who don’t just rebuild but reinvent.”
— John Eades
We’re two years since the pandemic began, many managers and leaders have since reinvented themselves and their organizations with greater expectations for a better tomorrow, while others are tempted to retreat to the familiar.
Awakening to the Dawning of a New Day
Bob Black says, “The reinvention of daily life means marching off the edge of our maps.” How true that is!
Since 2020, Personal and corporate redevelopment has already changed how we as a society do business, education, social interaction, and even shopping, all without leaving home!
Conducting virtual conferences and utilizing remote workspaces while managing expectations for a new generation are all the norm. As I write this, I know thought leaders who have already reimagined tomorrow.
In 2020 Sam Walker wrote, “When the Great Restart begins, many leaders will fall back on an idea once espoused by Machiavelli, who wrote: “The great majority of mankind are satisfied with appearances, as though they were realities.“ They will try to reduce the anxiety in the air by restoring familiar routines, procedures, and traditions. The problem is that business, as we knew it, cannot be recovered. It will need to be reinvented.“
Before the pandemic, every company had problems. Many of them were negligible, so we lived with them.
Whether it’s the robustness of the supply chain, the culture of meetings, or the criteria we use to hire and promote, everything’s on the table now. The value may be difficult to extract, but there has never been a better opportunity to create positive, productive, and lasting change.” (1)
Reinvention Begins at Home
“You must know yourself before you can be yourself, in order to reinvent yourself”
— JSP
For the business leader managing a corporate reinvention always begins with a personal reinvention; how can it be otherwise?
We cannot deny we aren’t who we were before 2020. Our lifestyles, habits, objectives, and methodologies have all shifted in the past twenty-four months. It’s a good thing to reassess ourselves (in the light of our present situations).
How have you changed (or been changed) in the past 24 months?
Have you become more aware of your strengths and weaknesses?
Do you have past regrets and future uncertainties?
Examine the process and personal habits that brought you to where you are now.
Have any of your values shifted?
What needs to be revisited, adjusted, and possibly changed altogether?
Why Reinvention is the Mother of Invention
Thought leaders always reassess before major societal shifts. Rethinking leads to reinventing; according to Time.com there’ve been 100 innovations changing how we live; Accessibility, medical breakthroughs, artificial Intelligence, robotics, communications, mobile apps, augmented and Virtual Reality, gaming, corporate VR solutions, AR-guided surgery, Beauty and cosmetics, Consumer electronics… (2)
Those who reimagine tomorrow understand that thinking reinvention always lead to new inventions. How prepared are you heading into a future that may be currently off your map?
In Conclusion, Most people are by necessity open to reinvention when change is all around them, Lifelong learners are by choice growing through the changes.
John Rzeznik aptly states, “A little renovation and reinvention is a positive thing.” I agree, better tomorrows are captured by how well we reinvent ourselves today. How about you?
End Notes
(1) “Getting the Restart Right: How To Lead When Nobody Has a Map” Sam Walker https://on.wsj.com/3OTctlt
(2) “The Best Inventions of 2020” Time.com https://bit.ly/3Si4x05
*** This article was authored by John Picarello, Chief Leadership Officer at Lions Pride Leadership Co. ***