Jul 1, 2020
Mark Johnson is
the co-author of the book, Lead from the Future: How to Turn Visionary
Thinking into Breakthrough Growth. Mark offers creative and different ways of
approaching the future. Timing is always everything and it can be
tricky for leaders to gauge when it makes sense to act. To
navigate, you need a north-star vision for your company.
Key Takeaways
[3:15] Mark discusses the
passing of Clayton Christensen and the impact he has made on his
life and the lives of many others.
[6:45] Small businesses have the
opportunity (and flexibility) to reinvent themselves. You don’t
have to go down with the sinking ship.
[11:10] Nobody has a crystal
ball about the future, but business is in business for the
customer. Look to the customer and their needs when adapting your
services.
[13:35] Timing is always
everything and it can be tricky for leaders to gauge when it makes
sense to act. To navigate this, you need a north-star vision for
your company.
[15:10] It’s a risky time for
businesses, which means they need to start getting good at
learning, and quickly adapting from those insights.
[22:05] We often look for
constraints before a project has even begun. However, if we put
constraints on it prior to the request, the mind is forced to think
outside of the box to solve the task at hand. It’s a creative way
to use psychology to help spark innovation.
[23:55] With information
technology, our brains get easily distracted, which means our room
for creativity becomes less and less.
[24:55] The cavalry is not
coming. You have to break free from your biases.
[25:55] Mark shares examples of
companies thinking in the future instead of the present. Like, how
do you completely prevent a disease from occurring, and prove that
you’ve actually prevented a disease?
[32:45] The truth is, we’re not
necessarily risk-averse, we just don’t know how to properly manage
risk.
[39:55] Develop a compelling
vision, align the organization, and then motivate/reward to allow
it to stick.
Quotable Quotes
- “It’s
not an either/or. Yes, you want to have a good professional career,
but it can’t be a replacement for your family.”
- “Entrepreneurs, to begin with, are resourceful
people, they are imaginative people, they are
visionaries.”
- “It’s
more important to have the right way of thinking and a process that
enables you to be forward-looking at the same time as
operationally-oriented.”
- “It’s
a risky time and the only way to mitigate risk is to be good about
learning. In order to be good about learning, you’ve got to be good
at running experiments.”
- “With
information technology, we’re much more hunkered down with the
volatility and uncertainty of the world to try and address the here
and now.”
- “Everybody in the organization doesn’t need to
be creative. However, you’ve got to bring everyone in your
organization along through your communication and explain the
reasons why creativity is important, even for those who are not
involved directly.”
Resources Mentioned
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