Surfing History

(377 words)

Do you sometimes wish you could learn to surf rather than bear the brunt of life’s massive changes crashing over you?

My five-year-old, Rayden, always dives right into the ocean, no matter how huge the waves. When Rayden was smaller, he would get pummeled. Today, he surfs even (moderately) big waves on his boogie board.

Future history surfer plying his trade.

Fernando Flores and the Chilean National Council on Innovation describes how you can “surf history.” You can’t predict exactly what will happen, but can position yourself in the gnarly undercurrents for a scintillating, value-creating, and reasonably safe, ride into the future. The key to surfing is positioning yourself to participate in the discussions that will shape the future, and almost playfully exploring unknown paths. Such conversations and exploration provide you additional perspectives into how history is unfolding, and, with relationships that cross society, you become uniquely positioned to effectively respond to change.

The truth is that we can each strengthen ourself and our organization by searching out the discussions that will shape our future. Yet we frequently let those opportunities slip away in the interest of more immediate, tactical progress.

Keeping track of moments in your day where you interact with complex social currents you only partially understand is one simple way to cultivate your surfing skills. Perhaps two finalist job candidates come from different cultural backgrounds, you find yourself interacting with a supplier whose daily challenges you do not understand, or you find yourself assuming a customer purchases an inferior product simply because they are acting foolishly.

Raising awareness of your social blind spots takes practice and dedication. That said, once you are aware, you are empowered to find value in the meaningful conversations that provide insight into the currents impacting your world.

What are the future-shaping conversations in which you should participate? How can you learn to ‘Hang 10’ when life can be as rough as a Hawaiian monster wave?

Share your thoughts in the comments or by sending me an email: info@RodWallacePhD.com.

Our society cannot just survive. For the sake of our children, it must thrive.

Rod

Dr. Rod Wallace is an economist, business strategist, and speaker on digital technology’s impact on society and the strategies and tools with which business can solve our pressing social problems. Contact him at info@RodWallacePhD.com.