A road map to 2020

By David B. Savage

We have a rocky mountainous road from 2017 to 2020. And what is around that corner? Are there rockslides, tree falls or is it paved? What do we need to equip ourselves with to navigate to where we dream to be?

Over the years, I have been invited to speak with our JCI Kootenay group. For my latest session in March 2017, I was again invited to talk about my expertise in negotiation, collaboration and business development. I said; No. Saying No is fundamental to negotiations, collaboration and business development.

As clients of mine know, when you say no to others, you say yes to your own dreams. And Yes to working together better. I want us to ‘Break Through To Yes.’ I want JCI Kootenay to continue to grow and serve. While we may know them for Leadercast and Sam Steele Days, they are making our region better by building their own skills.

When we dream of what is possible, we open to our future. And let go of the boundaries and see past the barriers.

As we start to build our capacities and realize what is needed now, we do start ‘Unlocking the Possible within a Culture of Collaboration’ (the subtitle of my book Break Through To Yes). JCI is a global collaborative not for profit that builds skills, networks and dreams. From their website; “JCI is a non-profit organization of young active citizens age 18 to 40 who are engaged and committed to creating impact in their communities. Active citizens are individuals invested in the future of our world. JCI gathers active citizens from all sectors of society. We develop the skills, knowledge and understanding to make informed decisions and take action.”

During our March 2017 JCI Kootenay session, I presented the members and guests with the Top Ten Skills needed for 2020.

“Change won’t wait for us: business leaders, educators and governments all need to be proactive in up-skilling and retraining people so everyone can benefit from the Fourth Industrial Revolution.” Alex Grey, World Economic Forum, titled The 10 Skills You Need to Thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

We are globally connected. The people and resources required to serve the interests of the Kootenays of British Columbia are both local and global. Those of us here that prepare ourselves for 2020, must act now to build our capabilities and expertise. Are you getting on the bus or about to be run over by it?

According to the World Economic Forum, here are those top 10 skills.

• Complex Problem Solving;
• Critical Thinking;
• Creativity;
• People Management;
• Coordinating with Others;
• Emotional Intelligence;
• Judgment and Decision Making;
• Service Orientation;
• Negotiation;
• Cognitive Flexibility.

In our conversations at JCI we explored the skills that are most important in 2020 and how they are shifting from 2015. We could spend a day exploring each of the ten and creating a system to build those skills.

In this brief space, I want you to focus on a few tools that will move you, including JCI, to a great 2020 and beyond. Let’s take a quick look at the top two on the World Economic Forum prediction.

Complex Problem Solving

Remember the African proverb: ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’ Only through a process that encourages you to go far will you create successful and sustainable solutions to complex problems. Review my 10 Essential Steps to Collaboration and design your process. You can download it free. We live in an increasingly complex world, why would we not choose to collaborate and co-create? Dualism is Right vs Wrong, Good vs Bad, Economy vs Environment… Dualism misleads us. Complexity is challenging.

Critical Thinking

Dr. Peter H. Diamandis is an international pioneer in the fields of innovation, incentive competitions and commercial space. He is founder of the XPRIZE, Singularity University, and author of Abundance. In his recent BLOG, Diamandis shares; What I Tell My Kids Every Day. The answer; “Ask good questions today.” He goes on; “In my humble opinion, helping your kids to think critically and to ask great questions is the most important lesson you can teach them.”

My daughter, Alissa Amos, is a junior high/middle school teacher in Cranbrook. Like other great teachers in our province and in the world, she challenges her students to think critically. A few months ago, she asked; what do you think about Standing Rock?

Most students last fall had no idea what Standing Rock is. She challenged them to investigate and find information on Standing Rock. The next class, she asked “What do you think about Standing Rock” again. This time the class was energetically behind the Standing Rock people and against oil companies. Then she asked; investigate different perspectives on Standing Rock including the pipeline companies, the environment, the media, the community, the government… The following class was, apparently, a far more informed and complex dialogue on the complex issues, interests and perspectives involved at Standing Rock.

In our era of “anti-social” media, fast judgements and filtered results on the Internet, our future leaders must learn, practice and lead through critical thinking on complex issues. Failure to embrace complexity, critical thinking and collaboration, may severely limit the futures of some of us.

For more on Critical Thinking.

If you find this exploration of the skills needed for 2020 informative and provocative, let me know. I would be happy to arrange for a deeper look through further articles, workshops and podcasts.

And, one more free service to help ready yourself and your team for the future; listen to my podcast – Collaboration, Disruptive Technology and Entrepreneurship.

Think about the new facts that the number one taxi company in the world has no cars, the number one hotel company in the world has no rooms, the Canadian oil sands industry is finding ways to not only reduce Green House Gas Emissions but has identified ways to make more revenue my doing that… Unlock the Possible. Now Lead.

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