The New Humility

This is the time to get it wrong. Reshaping business ecosystems takes awareness, discomfort and a period of relearning.

We often prefer the ease of hanging on to old systems over the difficulty of grappling with new ones. In an ever-changing hybrid world, there’s another set of cognitive skills that might matter more than traditional intelligence or expertise: the ability to rethink and unlearn.  

This does not mean failure. This is starting again with more insight.  “Progress is impossible without change,” said George Bernard Shaw. “And those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” 

Strategy should always be provisional. You still don’t know what you don’t know.  Dedicate a healthy proportion of focus and resources to explore the new. Even when early evidence remains unclear, commit yourself to intellectual flexibility by seeking out marginal gains for insight that might set you on a different strategic path.   

The world’s most infamous business leaders change their minds.  

Having a healthy bias for action, Jeff Bezos knows that to make quick decisions, you need to identify what can be reversed. He describes these as ‘two-way doors’. You can back out later if you don’t like what you see, so you can move fast. An essential strategy to surviving fast-paced, competitive industries. Having an agile approach to decision-making is key when change is constant. 

Tesla gained a competitive advantage when the world’s biggest car manufacturers suffered from the global chip shortage. Tesla was able to overcome the supply chain issue by using an alternative semiconductor and quickly rewriting the car’s software. Their output is expected to grow in 2023 whilst other car makers are struggling to meet demand with long waiting lists and crucially losing market share.   

We have been warned the next two years will be painful. We need to all play our part to make it a little less painful for each other. You don’t know what you don’t know.  

So, ask the question. Share the answer. Stay curious and look after each other.  

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