[dropcap letter="E"]
2019, a year we have begun to cross as if it were a territory, will be a time marked by the rise of radical populisms, the starting point of a new economic recession, and European elections conditioned by Brexit. This context of uncertainties and doubts will orient our mood towards pessimism; a pessimism that, like dark-lensed glasses, prevents us from seeing that the world, despite what is thought, is much better than twenty years ago and that we live in an era where it is easier to reinvent oneself, both personally and professionally.
Active solutions are often the result of creative initiatives such as inviting people external to the company to evaluate the problem, defining the problem in writing, or analyzing positive exceptions to the problem, which implies opening up to other ideas.The prestigious magazineHarvard Business Reviewdedicated one of its last issues to establishing twelve great ideas for reinvention. These are twelve ideas or principles to move from paralysis and routine to action and change. The title of the issue could not be more direct:The essential in 2019, 12 great ideas to reinvent yourself.Among the proposals, it stands out that it is basic to learn from what has happened to us, overcome our prejudices, innovate safely, and know how to take advantage of goodproblems. The most relevant of his observations appears in the last proposal, where he asks the following question: "Is your company good/prepared for problem-solving?". 85% of the people surveyed responded that unsolved problems have high costs for their businesses.
Seeing things differently, in a positive light, also implies internalizing that the world is not drifting towards collapse, but rather is better than we think: we all have an absolutely mistaken view of the world.The cause is due to the tendency to overdo/exceed in diagnostic processes with an excess of daily meetings. Active solutions are often the result of creative initiatives such as inviting people external to the company to assess the problem, defining the problem in writing, or analyzing positive exceptions to the problem, which implies opening up to other ideas. The interesting thing about the proposals ofHarvard Business Reviewit is that they channel a bad problem so that it implies and represents a positive outcome. The proposal aims to favor addressing the problem in a way that allows progress towards a solution and does not cause a blockage that generates immobility. Reinventing oneself means facing conflicts as a way to update our response. It is about moving from pessimism (there is no solution) to pragmatism (there is always a possible solution).
Seeing things differently, in a positive light, also implies internalizing that the world is not drifting or collapsing, but rather is better than we think. Hans Rosling's book Factfulness is a clear exponent of this proposal based on not letting oneself be blinded by prejudices, nor by biased media information, nor by fear, in order to perceive things as they are. We are aware that legal slavery (where forced labor is legal or practiced by the state) is only allowed in three countries; that the impact of oil disasters affecting the environment has been reduced from six hundred thirty-six thousand tons of oil spills in 1979 to six thousand tons in 2016; that smallpox cases have been practically eradicated worldwide since 1979; that cases of malnutrition in the world have decreased from 28% in 1970 to 11% in 2015, or that child labor in children aged 5 to 14 has decreased from 28% in 1950 to 10% in 2012. The data presented do not correspond to the perceived global illusion that the world is heading for disaster. Hans Rosling puts us to the test and states that we walk through our lives with absolute ignorance about what surrounds us. Ignorance affects everyone, even those who are considered experts in the field. The author warns that, after asking experts through a questionnaire about the situation of issues such as poverty, ecological problems, education, the advance of democracy, or global warming on the planet, he reached the following conclusion: "one of the worst results was obtained from a group of Nobel laureates and medical researchers. It seems that we all have an absolutely wrong view of the world."
Let these two editorial proposals serve to insist on the fact that in 2019 a more positive view of our particular and general reality should prevail. Only by appealing to data and not to our prejudices or lack of judgment will we be able to stop being subjected to a hollow and reality-distorting determinism. The world or our companies are not doing badly because of what we intuit but because of what we know; and what we know today is that we have enough data to think that the future can be faced with more optimism.