Читать книгу FLEX - Rick Grimaldi - Страница 9

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.

Source: John F. Kennedy Address in the Assembly Hall at the Paulskirche in Frankfurt (266), June 25, 1963, Public Papers of the Presidents: John F. Kennedy, 1963.

It's certainly no surprise that the world is changing, right? Progress and innovation have always been the natural order of things.

Hunter-gatherers evolved into an agrarian society focused on farming. Much later, America's industrial economy gave way to a postindustrial society, transitioning from a society that primarily provided manufactured goods to one that provides services.

Plus, world events—wars, natural disasters, political leaders, plagues, and viruses—have all delivered tsunamis of change since the beginning of time.

But here's what is new and radical in the world we live in today: the frenetic pace of change. That is unprecedented in the history of the world. The period with which change occurs has become radically compressed.

And that is having a profound effect on the world of work. There's a cognitive dissonance—a sort of psychological stress experienced worldwide—as we collectively struggle to match our behaviors, decisions, and expectations to a world that is evolving at warp speed. And all of these changes are rushing into a work environment that seems forever in flux.

Where is all this change coming from? It's due to a set of complex and ever-mutating trends both internal and external to our society. And together, they are creating a perfect storm of chaos with grave implications for businesses and companies that don't recognize and respond.

Let's consider them one at a time.