Last month I attended and spoke at the Emerging Innovation Summit hosted by RMIT in Melbourne. The opening keynote speaker was Langdon Morris co-founder of InnovationLabs and President of FutureLab in the US. I was fortunate enough to acquire a pre-release copy of his latest book The Big Shift[1] which succinctly translates huge global data sets into simple elegant graphs so the reader can see clearly the powerful trends that are sweeping our world and defining our age. I always appreciate thought leaders who can make complex data easily accessible and comprehensible.
The pics above are just a few of the representations he shared with us during his enlightening keynote address and which are contained in his book. Together they tell the story of the massive transformation that the world is experiencing right now.
We are living through not one revolution but multiple ones – simultaneously!
Digitisation. Urbanisation. Climate change. Robotics. Technological developments. Massive debt to GDP ratios. Geopolitical shifts. Economic and capital restructuring. And much more! All taking place right now. Even the term ‘disruption’ which we hear used so much these days is inadequate to describe the magnitude of the shifts happening globally.
Our post-industrial world is changing even faster than most people think it is as we transition into the next economy. We are living through an era of fundamental transformation bringing with it upheavals, uncertainty, complexity, repercussions and accelerated, exponential, ‘autocatalytic’ change never before experienced in the history of humanity. (Autocatalytic change is a process of change that feeds itself in a way that leads to further change).
One thing is for sure – expecting things to slow down or stay the same is simply unrealistic. All our institutions and organisations – public, private, educational, not-for-profit, businesses etc.… all need to be operating with their eyes on the future not just the present or the past. For this we need strategic, future-focussed, leaders who can rise above the day to day exigencies in order to look ahead; leaders who can attend to not just the urgent but the important, leaders with a strong sense of self-efficacy who see themselves as positive change agents and feel empowered to shape the future of their teams and organisations.
We can all play a role in creating the future we want to live into.
What form does your role as a future-shaper take? For me, I see my role as a being an enabler, a catalyst that helps create inspired, future-focussed leaders who confidently lead their teams and organisations through transition and transformation. In workplaces that are beyond busy, leaders and future leaders need some head space to think differently, strategically, creatively, so they can rise to the challenges they face daily – challenges that are going to continue to intensify in urgency and complexity. Providing a safe haven for leaders to lift their gaze to see not only ‘what is’ but ‘what’s possible’ is fundamental to my work and an integral part of my programs.
Last month I launched my Leading in the Innovation Age public masterclass in which I shared, unpacked and contextualised some of the concepts in Langdon’s book before leading into an exploration of what all this means for how we need to do leadership differently. So many of the fundamental models we have relied on for so long – no longer serve us. How we design and do leadership is among them. There is so much research around at the moment showing that leadership training and development is not keeping up-to-date with our fast moving times. Contact me if you would like to do something about that.
Until next time,
Irena.
[1] Morris. L. (2018). The Big Shift: The 83 most important changes that everyone should know about, and the big shift that changes everything. FutureLab Press.
Whenever you are ready here are three ways I can help your teams, leaders and organisation to be future-ready, innovative, creative and intrapreneurial:
- KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
- Have me speak at your next event or conference. Download my speaker flyer here.
2. IN-HOUSE WORKSHOPS:
- Book an in-house workshop or program. Email me to discuss your needs.
3. PUBLIC WORKSHOPS:
- Attend one of my public workshops or events. Next Creating Intrapreneurs workshop in Brisbane is on February 28th 2019. Register now for early bird.
Have you heard about the inaugural Australian Intrapreneurs Summit happening at the Brisbane Convention Centre on the 14th of March 2019? This historic event is bringing together innovators and change makers from diverse organisations and sectors to educate and inspire us. Register now to discover how this global movement will impact the future of your career, team and workplace.
Calling all intrapreneurs! Join our Inspiring Intrapreneurs FB group. If you identify as a corporate innovator, disruptor, positive change agent, creative problem-solver then come and join the tribe. Being an intrapreneur can be a tough gig sometimes. But you are not alone. We’re here to inspire and support you and also learn from your experience. Works both ways.
Click here to join: Inspiring Intrapreneurs with Dr. Irena Yashin-Shaw
My book “INTRAPRENEUR” is now available to order.
“Dr. Irena Yashin-Shaw has cleverly captured the future of leadership in this ground-breaking book. She shows how creative and enterprising individuals – INTRAPRENEURS – are transforming their organisations from the inside out. A must read for leaders aspiring to unleash their inner entrepreneur to change the world.“
– Allan Pease. Chairman of Pease International and author of 18 top ten bestsellers.
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