Now that you know, what will you do?

Have you seen the “Did You Know” videos on YouTube? If not, look below for version 3.0 – just under 5 minutes of eye-opening data and insight. Even if you have seen one or more of these (there are 4 versions so far), I recommend another look…

It’s tempting sometimes (at least for me) to throw up my hands in the face of all this change—to declare it impossible to keep up to speed. (I didn’t even learn about these videos until a month or so ago—I’m clearly not keeping up with everything!) And yet these global, technological, and cultural shifts are fascinating and compelling, and they offer important food for thought for all of us as leaders, managers, and individuals. For example, here are some of the questions that I’m prompted to ask:

• Are our organization’s products and services poised to remain relevant in this constantly evolving environment?
• How do we avoid the fate of MySpace (which was so prominently featured in version 1.0 of “Did You Know”… before Facebook took over)?
• How are we dealing with the changing—apparently transient, text-message-obsessed, social-media-savvy—younger workers entering our organization?
• How am I fighting complacency—in myself, in those around me, in our organizational culture?
• How do we strike a balance between holding on to the important core of our mission, our brand, our work AND transforming where urgently necessary?
• What can we do to keep from becoming stressed out?
• In what ways am I (personally) adapting, learning, and growing?

If the last few years are any indication, we can’t begin to predict the shifts ahead, and they will come at an ever-faster pace. As you and your organization lay out new plans and goals, it pays to think consciously about questions like these. These times demand that we be more creative, more flexible, and more ready… to solve the problems that don’t even exist yet.

Did you know 3.0

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