What a week!

It looks like we are finally getting through with mainstream business thinking about the power and the essential nature of reinvention. 

First, we got featured in Forbes (say what?!) - which has unceremoniously announced that "Reinvention is THE new game in town":


 

What is so important and monumental is that this mainstream publication finally gets the key point we are trying to drive home for some time now - that volatility is here to stay and change can no longer be treated as a one-time project: 

"Executives in such businesses seeking to improve their chances of survival might do well to study a timely new book by self-styled 'chief reinvention officer' Nadya Zhexembayeva. “How To Thrive In Chaos” is an easily-accessible, large-format book that is subtitled “The chief reinvention officer handbook” and as such is filled with lessons and steps to take to embrace success in an era of change. But perhaps the...

It happens to nearly every generation.

Professions disappear, skills become irrelevant, entire industries grow obsolete (remember, just a few generations ago, jobs such as an "elevator operator," a "human computer," and a "town crier" were a real thing).

Yet, it rarely happens as fast and furious as it's happening now. 

This Oxford University study suggests that about 47% of jobs in the US alone will disappear due to automation. Gartner's research shows that organizations are now listing about 33% more skills on job ads in 2020 than they did in 2017. The Financial Times suggests we should plan for five careers (not jobs, full-on careers!) in our lifetime, adding a powerful punchline "Work is impermanent - reinvention is rational":

The message is clear: reinvent or get out of the game. Yet, how many schools, universities, or Executive Education institutions do you know that are taking this need seriously? 

There are almost none....

It's hard to believe.

Exactly one year ago, I packed my bag and took a flight to San Francisco for our annual Silicon Valley "let's find the new trends and disruptions before they happen" trip.

Look at me, all smiley at the Plug&Play corporate innovation-meet-start-ups tech center.... not a single mask in sight.

It's been one year. No way. What a year.

Since then we learned a lot. We cried, we laughed, we discovered a ton of songs to sing for 20 seconds while washing our hands. We adapted.

So, it feels like it is crucial for us to pause, take a moment, and capture the enormity of what we lived through and the strength of what we learned.

I will start sharing my lessons here - and invite you to join. If you're part of our private Facebook group, share your lessons here.

 In no particular order, what I learned from the year of COVID-19 so far:

LESSON #1: Life is more fragile than we are ready to admit. What we think of as solid and sure and...

I am not gonna lie: this week I've been completely consumed by our 500-participant Easy Reinvention Lab.

This is the first time we are running this free, live 5-day event  - but boy is it bringing big breakthroughs for people already:

 The Lab is wrapping up tomorrow at 12 noon - but there is still time for you to get some of the same benefits.

OPTION 1: sign up for the Lab today to get all the replays and the workbook (you have until the end of Tuesday, March 2nd to catch up and then all the replays disappear):

REGISTER FOR THE LAB

OPTION 2: join us live on Zoom for a catch-up session on the "3 secrets of future-proofing your company (and your career)" - which will take place on Monday, March 1st, 12 -1 pm US EST:

ADD TO YOUR CALENDAR

Our mission is to bring reinvention skills to 1 billion people - so that we can all learn to ride the waves of change, rather than get crushed by them.

I think this week is one of the...

What makes something alive?

Why do some companies (careers, communities, even entire companies) thrive - while others disappear?

How can we choose to stay alive in business (and beyond) - rather than be victims of our competitors, regulators, suppliers, customer deselections, and beyond?

What can business learn about survival from spiders, dolphins, and trees?

These and many other questions got answered in a new podcast episode recorded for a wonderful "Getting Work to Work" show:

I hope you'll get some new ideas for your organization and career - and a few good laughs. 

It is one of the most honest and relaxed conversations I had on a podcast and the very first question asked blew me away - I wonder what you'd be your answer...


P.S. On Monday our free live 5-day Easy Reinvention Lab starts - and it's not too late to join.

To make sure you get our amazing workbook (a blend of our own tools with the Blue Ocean Strategy, design thinking, and much more) and be on top...

 I love love love a good business reinvention story.

You can find many of them in the fancy magazines. Yet, most seem to feature big untouchable companies far far away (think Tesla, Apple, Stripe).

But what about the "normal" businesses we can actually relate to?

The reinvention of PENZONE is exactly that kind of story.

At the time of its founding in 1969, PENZONE was a contemporary to some of corporate America’s most powerful titans. Take, for example, RCA. In the year of PENZONE’s incorporation, RCA appeared on the Fortune 500 list as 20.

A giant in electronics, radio equipment, marine, and international communications. When General Electric acquired RCA in 1986, most of its assets were liquidated.

The year 1969 was also great at Pan American World Airways, known to most as Pan Am. Advertised with the slogan “The World’s Most Experienced Airline,” Pan Am had 150 jets flying to 86 countries on every continent except...