A newsletter exploring growth and identity; grounded in research and drawn from personal insight—occasional deep dives, occasional stumbles, but always seeking North.
What are you defending?
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A few months ago, I listened to Seth Godin discuss how NPR had a golden opportunity to dominate the podcast market. And could have built the very infrastructure for podcasting. They were already the best in radio. They had the people, the talent, the resources to make it happen. It was aligned with their mission Yet, they didn’t seize the chance. Why? They were defending the spectrum–the status quo–those familiar dials turn to find an FM channel (millennials will relate). This was the same story with Kodak and the rise of digital photography. Kodak’s own engineer founded the very first digital camera, but they did’t shift to fully adopt it, because their business was in printing and film photography. As a result, they lost their dominance while digital cameras became the new standard. It’s the same story with Blockbuster when Netflix emerged as the new way to watch movies. But this isn’t just about companies. Every day we see people defend the status quo–often unreasonably. But I’ve learned that this behavior is often driven by of fear. We are afraid of obsolescence, failure, or some economic loss. So we defend what we know. We resist change. We put down deviations from the prevailing status quo. But, whether we fight or not, I believe innovation comes for us all. To thrive, especially in a continually changing landscape, it’s to change rather remain in the same place. To embrace the constancy of evolutions, rather than the comfort of the familiar. To look beyond short-term comfort; cultivate a growth mindset, and remain open to experimenting with new ideas or processes. While it’s natural to want to defend what we’ve built and mastered, staying relevant and doing meaningful work requires us to remain open to new ideas and innovations. An important question I’ll leave with you today is: what are you afraid of, and at what cost? I’ve created the table below just for you. What number(s) do you relate with? Hope this helps! Talk next week, Henry |
Finding North
A newsletter exploring growth and identity; grounded in research and drawn from personal insight—occasional deep dives, occasional stumbles, but always seeking North.
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