Do you. know what is going to disrupt your industry tomorrow? Not day after tomorrow – but tomorrow.
How can you find out what is going to disrupt your industry?
How come you don’t know?
The problem might be that you are successful and are busy with your Vision and Goals and Ambitions.
Or the problem is that you are struggling to survive and make both ends meet and you don’t have much time to reflect on the long term trends.
In either case, what’s missing is LISTENING.
Is your organization listening to the future that wants to emerge or is too preoccupied ?
Are your leaders trained to LISTEN? or are they champions of speaking and selective listening?
Are your front line staff and the all the employees and associates trained to LISTEN ? or are they surviving the hierarchy and carrying on carrying on; going through the motions, making the right noises not really up for some creative destruction?
What is the LISTENING we are talking about?
Level 1 Listening: Default Listening: Habitual Listening: Listening through Opinions and Judgements.
Output of Level 1 Listening: Reinforcing Opinion and Judgement
Enemy that keeps you stuck in level listening: Illusion called ‘I am Listening’.
Level 2 Listening: Factual Listening: Open Mind: Discovering new data (disconfirming data)
Output of Level 2 Listening: New information, which forces one to question the current assumptions.
Enemy of Level 2 Listening: Voice of Judgment
Access to develop Level 2 Listening: Develop Curiosity
Level 3 Listening: Empathic Listening: Open Heart: Seeing from Other’s eyes
Output of Level 3 Listening: Strong emotional connect with other person.
Enemy of Level 3 Listening: Voice of Cynicism
Access to develop Level 3 Listening: Operate with Compassion
Level 4 Listening: Generative Listening: Open will: Listening to the future that wants to emerge
Output of Level 4 Listening: New Possibilities and New Realms
Enemy of Level 4 Listening: Voice of Fear
Access to develop Level 4 Listening: Operating with Courage
This is the foundational competency for leaders and everyone in the organization to make your organization future ready, being able to hear, sense and connect with the future that wants to emerge and create your business in sync with that future. Otherwise the future will still come and you get DISRUPTED.
If you organization masters deep listening at all levels with internal and external stakeholders including employees,associates, customers, users, industry professionals, cross industry etc., – you could create a core competency of sensing the emerging future and capture the opportunity and ride the wave to new level of success.
Ofcourse, it is not a one time phenomenon – but an ongoing game like the waves in the ocean. You sense the wave and you sense the sea… moment by moment – forever.
Happy Listening. Happy Sensing. Ride the wave of the future emerging instead of getting DISRUPTED!
Manoj Onkar, MANAGEMENT INNOVATIONS, manoj@managementinnovations.co.in
MANAGEMENT INNOVATIONS 