Staying safe during turbulent times is appealing.

But sheltering in the safe harbour, while it may be reassuring is hugely limiting. What are you going to do when the storm eventually comes your way?

There’s no hiding from change, so it’s best to confront it or flow with it, or at the very least set a course forward.

Any sailor will tell you that once you’ve set a course, there will be a whole set of adjustments and adaptions you’ll have to put in place on the way. Very few voyages go to plan. Yet to fail to even try is the worst strategy of all. Often what restricts progress is fear of the unknown.

It is a misnomer to think that humans do like change, we really don’t. It’s uncomfortable. It’s much more pleasant being an expert and staying within the boundaries of what you already know. Getting to the top of the tree, then making ever so slight improvements. It is this which restricts growth of a personal and professional kind.

Some of the greatest discoveries to humanity have come from challenging the existing paradigm. Working within our nautical theme, belief the Earth was flat stopped us sailing across oceans and discovering lands. It took a risk-taker to disprove this theory and then connect the world and make history.

While researching the development of stories, it struck me that the people who really envisioned the future most effectively were not the scientists, but the storytellers. The people who are not so weighed down with the rigour of learning in a particular way, by following a particular set of rules. Einstein was unusual in that he challenged the status quo. And it took an inordinate amount of time for the boffins at Cambridge to accept this new theory.

Why? As it challenges the rules, status and confirmation bias of the establishment that had the privilege of setting those rules. So what causes the tipping point? What happens when this new thing finally gets accepted by the conservative majority?

My view is that the sense of fear eventually shifts. Unfortunately, inspiration is less effective to change. It may spark interest, but fear is faster. And this sense of fear moves from the essence of being scared of change and risk of failure to fear that not changing at all will lead to losing out. A ‘missing of the boat’ to follow our nautical theme. So whatever the technology and whatever change represent, fear is what gets stuff done. Sure it stops things moving for a while, but assuming this new ‘thing’ is fundamentally valuable and useful, then it will tip.

The trick is being the people that eventually benefit from this shift. People looking to reluctantly change will still be looking for the right people and businesses to help. Effective marketing, storytelling and communication will help build that trust. Prior to this point, a business should invest in raising their visibility, sharing their expertise and building their brand. By doing so they will be best placed when a new customer is searching for a partner to help them to make the most of the new status quo.

If you’re interested in finding out more about how we can help your business with communication, storytelling and thought leadership, then email me.