I’ve been fortunate enough to work with three terrific companies over the last week, as they attempt to craft their vision and roadmap for the future.  When you find yourself in this sandbox of creative and forward leaning thinking, it’s always best to think of your mind as if it were a parachute … it will function best when open.

Another way of discerning the status of your mind (open or closed) is to consider the following phrase:

Do you have a healthy discomfort with the status quo?

This question was bandied about during one of my sessions and I could not get the line, and its implications, out of my head!

In other words, for any kind of change to have a significant impact in an organization, the entire leadership is going to have to have a “healthy discomfort with the status quo.”  If the status quo causes you some discomfort, then you’ll find yourself open to changes in the market place, changes in the workforce and changes in the customer needs.

Discomfort with the status quo means you’ll more easily detect emerging trends and act more quickly than your competition.  You’ll realize that decisions need to be made faster and solutions will have to be implemented in hours and days rather than weeks, months or years. A healthy discomfort with the status quo will force you to shrink product development lifecycles and become more agile in your service and product delivery. The entire rhythm of your business will quicken.

A healthy discomfort with the status quo doesn’t mean you’re never satisfied …. it just means your never satisfiedfor long!