How to deal with a new reality defined by a state of constant flux
The Wave by the 19th century Japanese artist Hokusai.
We are all in the picture.
We are all part of Hokusai's most famous work of art.
That wind of change that is disrupting our lives is only the foretelling sign of a massive transformational wave pushing air as it rushes towards us.
Within the next five years, everything we do, everybody we know, and everywhere we go, will change profoundly.
The drivers of that change are the usual suspects namely information technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and cognitive science.
After occupying the forefront of the industrial revolution, technology is now starting its great disappearing act, only to enter a new stage where it becomes ubiquitous, pervasive, and interwoven with the very fabric of our lives.
After conquering lands, oceans, and space, the next big frontier for man is … man.
The 21st century will bring unprecedented opportunities to enter an era of true evolution of consciousness, accompanied by equally overwhelming ethical and societal challenges.
Big wave riders
So here we are, in a quantum version of Hokusai’s print, at once the fishermen caught by the wave scrambling to salvage our rafts and the distant spectators contemplating the scene from the snowy peak of Mount Fuji.
Assuming the more comfortable stance of the remote onlooker, we have time to ask ourselves: Who between the MS Harmony of the Seas and Garrett McNamara would have the best chance to survive the wave?
After 20 years of surfing the Internet wave, and as a very nimble organization, we definitely would bet on the man with the board.
Paddling away from this little digression, we can't help but notice that this massive transformational wave will hit individuals and megacorporations indistinctively and with the same strength. Both will have to adjust and keep adjusting, because that wave will keep rolling in without weakening. The only way to survive this endless wave,then, is to become the wave, to be one with the wave. We're pretty sure Garrett would agree with that…
Inflection point
Leaving aside the maritime metaphor, let's simply say that we are approaching an inflection point where we will need to embrace transformation by entering a constant transformational process.
As a technology provider providing process automation solutions to corporations worldwide, we are the canary in the coal mine when it comes to new business trends, and we believe that this constant transformational process constitutes a major strategic stake for both individuals and organizations of all sizes.
More than ever, individuals are key to organizational and societal transformation. In this "bottom up" approach, we, as individuals, are the agents of change that will impact our world.
Composite spheres
To thrive in a new reality characterized by a state of constant flux dominated by real-time and fluidity, we first need to abandon old prevailing mental constructions anchored in a static, dualistic, and mechanistic present.
Perception creates reality. To change our reality, let's start by changing our perception for a more holistic, organic, dynamic, and multi-dimensional vision.
To address the inevitable complexity induced by constant transformation and to live by the immediacy imperative, we need frictionless processes and tools that provide the most direct path from our thoughts to their materialization. Tools and processes must become extensions of our thoughts.
Our ideas will materialize into composite realities that will address more or less ephemeral needs.
Composite realities consist of loosely assembled people, processes, and tools sharing the same momentum. They will be brought together in every sphere of activity : R&D, sales, marketing, production, design, etc.
All of these composite spheres driven by a vision constitute an organization.
An organization is a vision in movement
Vision structures thoughts. Thoughts are materialized by processes. Processes create reality. Reality impacts vision.
This cycle beats at the heart of the organization. The speed and reach of the cycle constitute the wavelength of the organization — a wave within a massive transformational wave.
Vision imprinted in movement is the DNA of the 21st century organization.
The strength of an organization relies on the rhythm, synchronization and consistency of all its composite spheres, and most importantly, in each individual’s ability to resonate with its wavelength.