Think about your reaction last year when you first understood that the pandemic was here to stay for a while. What went through your mind?
“How can we go digital so quickly? How can we manage employees remotely? How can we survive this?”
Look at where you are now.
Think about what you initially thought was impossible that you actually made possible; what did you learn about yourself, the technology, the industry. It’s in our nature to evolve.
I love how well Nassim Nicholas Taleb explains this phenomenon in his book Antifragile. Some people and things benefit from shock. For example, muscles grow from micro-damage, our brain capacity expands through challenges. Some people thrive and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness, disorder, stressors, and uncertainty. Those are the ones that stand out in times of crises and that managers can depend on and consequently should do everything to keep them on board.
Antifragile is not synonymous with resilience. The resilient withstands shocks and pushes through; the antifragile actually gets better when dealing with chaos and uncertainty.
What did you think was impossible last year that you made possible?