Fast Company article "This Is Generation Flux" by Robert Safian
I recently stumbled upon a Fast Company article about Generation Flux, pioneers of the new and chaotic frontier of business. Author Robert Safian presents members of GenFlux from different industries and their ways of surviving and thriving in times of uncertainty and chaos.
It got me thinking: It?s not just the future of business that?s unpredictable. It?s also the future of communications technology, tools and apps that seems ever-evolving making it almost impossible for any communications practitioner to keep up with.
So, as a PR professional or communications practitioners ? how do you survive and thrive in times of accelerated change and technological innovation?
1. Welcome Chaos
?What defines GenFlux is a mind-set that embraces instability, that tolerates?and even enjoys?recalibrating careers, business models, and assumptions?, writes Robert Safian. If you welcome chaos, work with it ? not against it ? you will have a better chance at being successful in what you do. Say hello to new communications tools, give a novel app a try, and be excited about a fresh way of how to publish your message.
2. Be Open to Learning Every Day
?Few traditional career tactics train us for an era where the most important skill is the ability to acquire new skills?, knows Safian. Constant innovation, new product launches and software re-designs require that we constantly expand our skills and acquire knowledge about recent changes that affect our industry. Be prepared for an avalanche of learning so that you can hone your communications skills on a daily basis.
3. ?Systemize Change?
In his article, Safian quotes Susan Peters, who oversees GE?s executive-development effort: ??Our traditional teams are too slow. We?re not innovating fast enough. We need to systematize change.? What Peters suggests is, don?t just respond to change but adapt to it and change with it ? and quickly. If you?re a communications professional, think about how you can reform your infrastructure to better serve your clients in an interconnected world.
4. Harness Fear
Jonathan Fields wrote a whole genius book about how to take fear and transform it into confidence and creativity when faced with uncertainty and chaos. Successful GenFluxers have embraced this way of turning fear into food for brilliance. As Safian writes ?it can also be exhilarating.? As a PR and communications practitioner, find out where you can say good-bye to fear and welcome the challenge of turning it into something powerful and creative.
5. Re-invent Success Daily
According to Safian, GenFluxers don?t look back. They?re not nostalgic, and they don?t rely on what has worked before. In communications and PR, it?s ever more important to be able to re-invent success on a daily basis. A campaign that has worked for client x a few months ago, might not work for client y today ? the circumstances have changed, new apps are available, other social networks emerged. If you focus on taking advantage of the ?new? instead of sticking to the ?past?, you will have a greater chance of being successful in your campaigns.
What do you think? How can you thrive in this world of constant change and economic uncertainty? Share your insights with us!
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