R/T 016 - La La La. I can't hear you.
This week's radical thing is: Seeing the world for how it is.
Before I start this edition of RT - I want to grab your attention.
Are you curious about the future of design?
Do you wonder what the implications might be for your career, team or organisation?
Would you like to dive into the subject with some other like-minded designers?
If any of this sounds vaguely interesting, I’m taking expressions of interest for a new cohort-based course called Avant.
There’s no commitment at this point, but you’ll go onto a growing list of interesting people that will help shape the programme. I’ll also host some free futures-orientated sessions in the lead up to the launch, so it’s worth being on the list.
You can find out more about it on my personal website.
Now back to the this week’s edition…
We had covid in our house a few weeks. It's the second time we've caught it. Luckily only half of our family contracted the latest form of the virus.
It was intense couple of weeks. It knocked my wife sideways. She spent more than a week in bed and our household felt the impact in other ways.
We had to adapt. And quick.
The last thing I wanted to happen was for myself and my oldest daughter to also end up in bed. We separated into different rooms. We've got renovations going on so our living area is off-limits.
We’ve been living in bedrooms!
I encouraged my daughter's to wear masks when playing together. I was militant about hand washing and sanitising. We also isolated for longer than the current government recommendations.
Long story short - we got through it.
What was fascinating was people's reactions when we ventured back into the world. When we told people we’d had the virus, we received a range of reactions. A particularly striking comment went like this:
"How did you get that? It's so last year."
I was pretty stunned by this. My immediate though was: ”Wow!”
In New Zealand (and globally!), we know that the virus is still around. You hear stories and see data of increased infections and more cases of “Long Covid’. The evidence is everywhere.
My second reaction was:
“That’s a massive blind spot.”
The reaction illuminated how some people have a distorted view of the world. You know Covid is still around, yet you’ve formed a view that it's no longer a problem - It’s last year’s problem.
You’re choosing to ignore it. It’s like sticking your fingers in your ears or your head in the sand.
You’re seeing the world for how you want it to be, rather than the way it is.
Don’t engage in wishful thinking and ignore what’s happening in the world. Photo by Caleb Woods on Unsplash
You can find blind spots in organisations everywhere. They occur when you’re focussing attention in a certain direction at the expense of your surroundings. They also happen when you make untested assumptions about the world.
Covid is last year’s problem.
AI isn’t good enough to take my job.
The market will pick up again soon.
Seeking out blind spots is essential if you want to avoid being side-swiped by change. Or the things you’re choosing to ignore.
As an individual thinking about work or your career, it can be harder to do on your own. But there’s a couple of simple questions that can help:
What are the big assumptions you’re making about work and life?
What if those assumptions aren’t true?
Don't engage in wishful thinking. See the world for how it is.
Ask yourself some challenging questions and be ready to adapt when change comes knocking.