Dr. Pero Mićić
What specific opportunities do you have in the crisis?
Crisis Opportunity No. 08: Use an Opportunity Radar
Why an opportunity radar? Especially in a time of crisis, it is even more important that you do not let current events dominate your perception and thinking too much. Not even in good times. In order for you to act more future-intelligent, it would be good if you increase in your perception the proportion of information about the future and from the future, so to speak. But you often can’t see the future until you’ve seen it. What does that mean? You know the effect from everyday life. If you decided to buy a certain smartphone, suddenly you see it everywhere. Or you want to buy a jacket, and suddenly everyone is wearing it.
Opportunity radar: feed your brain with future information!
It’s the same with future information. If you’ve ever noticed a news story or video on 4D printing, solid-state batteries, or urbanization, you’re much more likely to notice other news stories on these future topics. And with that, think more about the future! And less about the past and about daily news, which is valuable only for a few hours.
Ideally, you would constantly feed and confront your brain with future information. That would make you a much more forward-thinking person. Footnote: No, you don’t then become Hans Guck-in-die-Luft, if you still know this story and character by Heinrich Hoffmann.
Okay, so just read more about the future and listen to more podcasts and watch more videos. Clear? Well, who among us isn’t overwhelmed with the myriad sources of news, videos and podcasts.
The good news is, there is a solution for this! How do you keep track of the mass of trends, technologies and topics of the future?
Feedly as an opportunity radar
Invest 15 minutes that will change your perception and therefore your life from now on. Sounds exaggerated? Maybe, but I can almost guarantee you that it will work.
Pick up your smartphone and go to the Apple App Store or Google Play. Find and install the Feedly app.
Feedly is a so-called feed reader. This is not a new fancy thing, but over 25 years old Internet technology. A feed reader is an ordering system for news that constantly populates itself. It receives the feeds, i.e. the news fed to it, and displays them in an orderly and pleasantly readable manner. Also notes on new podcasts and videos by the way. Feedly is free and I have no connection with Feedly. There are many others besides Feedly, of course, but Feedly is really good. And I use Feedly myself.
So far, so not new. But what you do with it as a future strategist is different from how a feed reader is usually used. You don’t just subscribe to any blogs and news, you subscribe to the feeds of futurologists, research institutes, technology websites and future websites. Further below you will find a list of good sources to start with, which you can adopt directly.
What do you get out of it? Now, if you make your Feedly on your phone, tablet or PC the center of your daily news reading, you can’t help but notice a lot more about the coming changes and future opportunities. Far more than before. And far more than others.
Please? You do not have time for it? No time for your future? Okay, then read, listen and watch less daily news! As I said, they are only worth a few hours. Less of it is really worth it!
Please be aware: You have a very personal, very far and wide looking and completely free personal future or opportunity radar. By the way, the whole thing also works for your team and for your whole company. You only need to divide up the future topics that individual colleagues should take on.
Important for your opportunity radar
Don’t subscribe only to feeds from sources you agree with and whose philosophy you like. You must perceive the future holistically. That’s why you also subscribe to future sources, depending on how you are so minded, which you think are too optimistic or too pessimistic, too much or too little technological, too left or too right politically. This is the only way to ensure that you also identify the threats and potential surprises early on.
By the way, why do I call this an opportunity radar? Because you can always turn any future information, no matter how bad, into an opportunity if you recognize it early.
With 15 minutes of investment, you have increased your future intelligence tremendously. And you will be a much more interesting conversation partner on dates and parties from now on 🙂
Write me your questions and comments. I look forward to it and will be happy to answer you.
Follow these links as well:
► The Future Strategy Program for SMEs
► Free video crash course THE FUTURE OF YOUR BUSINESS
► BUSINESS WARGAMING for robust business and future opportunities
► KEYNOTES by Pero Mićić for your employees and customers
Have a bright future!
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List of good sources for your opportunity radar
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