I picked up the book Great By Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos and Luck — Why Some Thrive Despite Them All. Authors Collins and Hansen set out to research “Why do some companies thrive in uncertainty, even chaos, and others do not?” It’s especially relevant as we leaders seek to assemble a new, crisis leadership playbook on the fly to survive and hopefully thrive post pandemic.
A key finding on successful leadership uncovered this: “The best leaders we studied did not have a visionary ability to predict the future. They observed what worked, figured out why it worked, and built upon proven foundations. They were more disciplined, more empirical, and more paranoid.” YES! The genius lies in hard work, focus, being data-driven, making a plan and working the plan.
As we consider how to restart in a new normal context, what have we observed is working and how do we continue to build from there? What evidence have we gathered that can guide our decision making efforts? The fact is we’re all in a situation of experimenting, learning, and pivoting. We’re using data and insights to build a path forward as best we can. I’m hopeful and motivated by this idea: “We cannot predict the future. But we can create it.”