Undoubtedly, bias impacts our view of the future. To prove my point, let’s take just one example we all can relate to —the work–from–home (WFH) movement.
Many businesspeople say things like,“We aren’t a remote company, so we‘re going to get back to the office as soon as we can.“In fact, I’ve felt this way at points during the pandemic. But as time has gone on,I’ve stepped away from my feelings and beliefs, and worked harder to gain perspective about what’s likely possible. This means dealing with the facts as they are.
A recent survey found that 75 percent of people working from home say they don’t want to go back to the office full time. My point of bringing up this study is that the marketplace has changed forever. We all have to live with what it hands us. You don’t get to choose how things will be. The universe is doing that for you.
However, if we can see the reality more clearly, then we can make better decisions and find more opportunities. Each of your customers needs help gaining perspective on what the new world will look like —work from home is just one example— but many aspects of how companies will operate are changing, or have already changed.
We need to spend more time gaining perspective and educating ourselves on the most likely outcomes and less time holding on to what we wantor what we think things should look like. (Here’s a hint: You won’t find the perspective you’re looking for on a cable news channel.)
We don’t get to choose the future. But we do get to make the most of it. That means seeing it for what it is. Today, this is more difficult because so many things are changing so quickly.
So we have to work harder to recognize our bias and how we view the future. There’s never been more opportunities available. We just have to see it clearly.
