How is your sense of wonder?
My dad lived through a lot (the Great Depression, World War II, Cold War) and had a difficult childhood, but he never lost his sense of wonder. In the 1980s, he told me about a future in which a small dish on your roof would bring you entertainment and sports from all over the world. In the 1970s, he asked if my newspaper was using floppy disks to store data.
I thought of dad this past week as I learned more and more about my new electric car – a 2022 Ford Mustang MachE. It is a marvelous machine. Its battery is recharged by the energy created by the solar panels on my roof. It is its own WiFi hot spot. Ford has swapped the engine compartment for a “frunk,” a compartment at the front of the car that is insulated and can serve as a cooler.
Dad would have gaped in wonder but he would not have been surprised.
I believe the future is created by people who wonder “what if”?
Most of our businesses and industries are moving fast. Are you moving fast with it? Or just doing the same thing that worked last year? The biggest mistake any CEO can make is accepting the status quo. Marshall Goldsmith’s book “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” is 15 years old but the lessons are valid. Small changes in how we think and problem solve – along with some unusual forward thinking – vault us ahead in business. So does a sense of wonder.
My brother and I talked at length this week about how dad would have marveled at this Mustang. But he would not have been surprised.
0 Comments