Yesterday, I spoke at Trico Changemakers Studio and it was a delight to have a very engaging discussion with the members present. 

What I observed about the resilience narrative is that they are based on patterns and a sense of predictability that is not present right now in a climate of ambiguity, uncertainty, complexity, and volatility. I have made a Beyond Resilience paradigm to show what we are missing out on many important themes. 

Instead of asking yourselves, are you ready to bring your kids to schools, ask about how education can be reimagined for the future generation. 

Instead of asking how can we solve homelessness together, why don't reimagine how the vulnerable population can be part of us, not something to be considered separate, different, and wanting? 

We asked the wrong questions therefore get the wrong answers. ​

We need bold imagination for a future that is not what we desire, but we can thrive and build stronger. 

Let's start a conversation. 


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We live in challenging times. 

It can be more challenging now that there is a complex reopening process that any blueprint is academic.

The guidelines in re-open are cautious, preventative, and risk-averse.  What it doesn't prohibit is up for many interpretations. Moreover, you are juggling countless things to get the business going again. 

What you need right now is practical advice that quickly assesses your situation, gives you a couple of options to choose from so that you can rebound with more precision.

What you require are pragmatic, creative, and resourceful advice and guidelines.

Who do you turn to for that valuable resource?

Isolation is optional and so does suffering. 

My guru at home gave a new term for reconstruction.

"Wreck it and build it again."

The vast majority of the work that we do can be reconstructed, remodelled, rebuild.

While the tearing process can be painful and exceedingly laborious, it could also be a source of relief (cathartic to some)  and release from the burden of perfectionism.

Our most prized goods, services, products, programs are held up high and with finality, judged as best. Where in fact, in other spaces, they wreck their best products so see if it can withstand several iterations for different purposes.

There is nothing wrong with valuing great assets, but if it becomes the 'sacred cow' that nobody wanted to touch for fear of reprisal, retribution, or negative impact, then there is the problem. Either it is perception issue or an accountability one.  

The joy of rebuilding is 100x better than the stagnant trophy gathering dust in the library. 


"Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It's the courage that counts" -Churchill said that. 

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The earlier you embrace the new situation the better for your organization in the long run.

Whatever you can do right now with the resources and options that you have, do it rather than sit and wait until this is over.

We don't know when will this be over. 

What we know is that we can control our responses and actions. 

We can focus on what is at hand.

We can be patient about how much we can do.

We can rejoice with the blessings that we have.

We are grateful for the love and support we enjoy.

We need to be proactive and optimistic  with the situation.

We cannot stop our lives from evolving. 

We need to connect and reach out. 

If you really think about it, there is no escape room.

Sitting in front of a crumbled spaghetti-marshmallow tower was a fun play. We had an exercise as a group and we just tried whatever we can to do without circumventing the rules, which were not at lot of anyway.

One of the participants remarked that time constraints allowed them to be more creative and less methodical in their ways, that failure is just part of trying.

Organizations that have a built urgency mechanism do not just sit back and let other entities control how they play in the marketplace. They have their own product timelines, marketing timelines, customer response timelines, regular reviews, so on and so forth. But these can also become part of tradition and become more of a fixture rather than a springboard for inspiration, creativity, and mental renewal.

How do you inject the sort of fun play, creative spark, and enjoyment into timelines and deliverables?

There must be rewards that are not pegged in terms of outputs and outcomes but are meant to encourage and allow creativity as a category. Second, there are less rules and mechanics to play so that everyone in the organization can participate regardless of their positions and levels of influence. Third, celebrate accidental discoveries of better 'ways of doing it' across the board. People in the organizations that are continuously improving and acting like they are part owners are generally more motivated and high performing. 

​If you do not have the right team, there is no way there will be fun in normal times, more so in urgency.


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My daughter would say: "You don't have to tell me, I know it already."


Knowing it from the headspace is different from executing the learned skill.

There is no shortcut to creation, not mere copying, curation, critiquing, and putting on a show to mimic actual work.

Creation is the best way to release your thoughts, put it on paper, speak about in public, share it to colleagues, and get feedback when ideas are fresh and not stalled by indecision and self-doubts.

​Creation stimulates new thinking. Like a muscle that is conditioned and toned, the skill will become stronger and robust over time. Like any great artist, it starts from a hundred iterations, until a better form surfaces.

Last week, I saw a great quote from an office - do not stop until you are proud of it!