2021: The year of change that you have been patiently waiting for

If ever there was a good time for new beginnings - it would be right now.

However, I get the sense that not too many people are too enthusiastic about thinking about the year ahead right now, but in truth - there hasn't been this kind of perfect opportunity in decades, to do exactly that.

Throughout history, fortunes have been made during times of great disturbance and change.

During these times, those that are not able to adapt to the change die out; from the empty space that is left in their wake, new ideas, protagonists and growth emerge.

With so much uncertainty going around - and so many not capable of navigating this unfamiliar terrain successfully; it is indeed the time for the strategically competent and operationally agile to shine.

Where might the opportunities lie?

Great disturbances create both short- and longer-term opportunities; it's good to consider questions relating to both as a part of your 2021 strategic thinking. Questions like...

Short-term: What (1) new markets has the disturbance opened up; which (2) competitors didn't make it; what (3) new needs have emerged; how has (4) the way we could operate and deliver value as an organisation changed; what (5) new ways of thinking and working are now needed to unlock the opportunities on the horizon?

In the future:

How might (1) sone of the significant changes in our operating environment unfold over the coming year; what might the (2) longer-term knock-on effects be of some of the major changes society has gone through over the last year; (3) where are there feint signals of opportunity emerging; which (4) unfolding changes are worth paying more attention to in 2021 because they may offer other future opportunities depending on how they develop; which (5) over-hyped changes are less relevant to our overall purpose as an organisation and serve as a distraction away from our agreed goals?

Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful. - Warren Buffet

Now is not the time for fearful decision-making.

This new year offers those in leadership positions an opportunity for a recalibration of expectations and a call for critical, creative, futures thinking.