“If you aren’t thinking big enough then you aren’t thinking at all!” – Futurist Jim Carroll
Are you thinking BIG enough?
That’s the challenge I often raise on stage – and in this case, on the Bridge of the Enterprise from Star Trek. Built at the Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas. Leonard Nimoy – Spock – was on stage just before me at this event in 2009. My job at this event in front of thousands was to help them to think BIG – to realize that their world was changing, and that if they didn’t change with it, it might not work out too well!
Here’s the thing – with so much transformative change underway, this is no time to think “small.” This is the time in which you need to be thinking “big.”
How “small” is your world? Do you have a narrow view of opportunity? Do you think in small, incremental steps? Do you focus on small ideas? Do you drive yourself forward with tiny initiatives? Do you hold yourself back through incredibly narrow goals? Do you measure your success each and every day through a series of small, incremental wins? This is not necessarily a bad thing – any type of initiative is a great initiative – but are you missing out by limiting your thinking and actions?
The reality is that right now, thinking BIG in terms of opportunity and the future will be crucial to your future success. Every single industry is in the midst of massive change – a world of 24-hour farming, precision medicine, manufacturing based on mass customization, the acceleration of renewables and battery technology, and insurance based upon real-time data analytics. Most industries will be barely recognizable in the future – the only remaining issues in getting there are relentless volatility and the timing of trends.
What does it mean for your future? In the old days, companies had “industries” that they worked within, “markets” that they sold into, “products and services” they sold, and “business models” that they based decisions upon. Every single one of those items in quotes is changing, This means that the assumptions that drive decisions are out of date, flawed and broken. All this is happening with an overall belief that the world will continue to move relatively slowly.
Every single assumption that you might have about your future could be wrong. Challenge those assumptions, think about the rapidity of future trends, and innovate — and you’ll find the growth opportunities that seem to elude so many others.
Think about this NOW!
Think BIG!
