There is compelling evidence through recorded history of this time-space travel of imagination made manifest. Given the physiological limitations of memory, as an artist, I believe ‘imagination’ could be the mycelial network of our leap into the future and the reality in the making. For me, this insight is key to be able to value the intangible in ways history and economics tardily attempted in the past.
Especially now, when this RESET is long due.
A quick glance through the narratives of innovations that changed history reveals an obsession with the tangible, reveling in records which sort of fence the spirit of innovation which is ever so freely and abundantly available in any human mind. We just don’t acknowledge it as we could.
Looking back, we can find reassuring evidence of the power of thought in the manifestation of reality as we know it. Be it credit cards, video calling, mood enhancing pills, surveillance, electric cars, bionic limbs, the world wide web, submarines, cell phones, robots, self-driving cars, 3D printers, earbuds, atomic power – you name it. Amazing! Isn’t it? What is also fascinating is the fact that we are at the brink of mastering brain to brain communication which not only directs behavior outward, but is learnt to be affect the rewiring physiologically. And all this in a world just getting ready to be rewired with 5G, AI, remote resource deployments and the works. The human race is going to go places. Hurray!
In the spirit of celebration, we must reflect on our response and the responsibility which comes with it. And I’m glad to see that we are making progress in that direction too. Few of the most valuable, essential, ‘intangible’ roles rising up in a world getting RESET by the minute is – Chief Future Officer, Chief Visionary Officer, Chief Ethicist, Chief Ecosystem Officer, Chief Privacy Officer, Chief Diversity Officer, Chief Experience Officer – and so on. The point is not about job openings to look out for obviously. The point is about the stretch of time to factor in, to let the value to get realized, over this fiction to fruition curve. And the role of imagination and the resources available to nurture it over the long term. This deserves new thinking and coffers – a brand new line item on the CFO’s spreadsheet even. Time-sheets or Try-sheets? Maybe you think you already have it and you call it CAPEX. But looking at headlines of the past six months - the COVID Impact - we do realize that very few companies have pulled it off or had any signs of, so called ‘vision’ in their management philosophy or approach. Why is it so? I say, it is an obsession with the tangible as trade value and a myopic management style, languishing cathartically, from QTR to QTR. The real world of IPOs, unicorns, bankruptcies, job cuts, salary cuts and a little less than desired distribution of wealth which pulls the strings – deserves more imagination. Imagination which could pave the way for a better collective future, because ‘imagination’ put to work could pay back richly and fairly in the long run. If imagination was a commodity, how would you capture it? Who or which companies could you look up to for reference? I don’t want to limit your curiosity and imagination by throwing in some easy answers.
Benjamin Graham’s words come to my mind. He said, “In the short run the market is a voting machine, but in the long run it is a weighing machine”.
So, the question we should be asking ourselves in this RESET is, how do you go from ‘here’ to ‘there’? How do you take that next step?
You could possibly start by asking yourself:
· Are we investing properly in ‘imagination’?
· Have we re-wired our coffers to curate this new value curve?
· What is the cultural RESET required to reign in this INTANGIBLE VALUE collectively?
At Narrativ.Design we like to live by the following pointers:
· Learning > Education
· Questions > Frameworks
· Intuition > Knowledge
· Imagination > Memory
· I don’t know > I know
What are your resolutions for the RESET?
Go ahead. Make that stuff up.
© 2020 Narrativ.Design. All rights reserved.The author is the founder of Narrativ.Design. He has worked in various strategic roles across Asia, on local and global brands for over 15 years. He is fluent in Bengali, Hindi and English. You can reach him at authors@narrativ.design.Image: ©Pathfinderabhi