Greatest Generation 2.0 Is Within Our Reach

by | Jul 20, 2020 | Indispensable Book, indispensable business, indispensable consulting, james m. kerr, Leadership, vision, workplace transition

Culture makes the difference for the Greatest Generation 2.0 means we're in it together

Welcome to the Next Normal

We can become the Greatest Generation 2.0.

We are a generation of people coming together in the face of great adversity and have the opportunity to prove that we have what it takes to overcome. As a management consultant and futurist that has authored my fair share of vision stories for ever discerning clients, I think the COVID-19 pandemic presents us with an opportunity to do something great – to become the Greatest Generation 2.0.

I know that this message is unlike many of my contemporary’s predictions which forecast undesirable scenarios. Sure, we aren’t always showing our best selves at the moment. However, I have hope that we will do better and when we do, we will see a society marked by these 20 changes that we make while fighting back the virus.

Top 20 Changes To Look For As We Become the Greatest Generation 2.0:

  1. Social interaction that has dramatically shifted in support of maintaining improved personal safety.
  2. A surge in creativity and innovation.
  3. A stronger sense of community.
  4. A new definition of privacy and personal liberties that “matches” with Next Normal sensibilities.
  5. A Realization that looking after the most vulnerable is an obligation of being part any civilized society.
  6. An acknowledgment that government leaders may not be capable of providing the leadership needed to coordinate an integrated crisis response, which led to new demands from the public.
  7. Citizen’s calls for a gross overhaul in healthcare delivery system.
  8. A PTSD Hangover that serves to demystify mental health.
  9. A shift from a work-life balance to work-life integration.
  10. Businesses that have modernized policies to comply with new safety guidelines.
  11. Slow economic recovery which has led to systemic change in related government policies.
  12. Small manufacturers becoming acquisition targets.
  13. Small businesses going under and replaced with new ones.
  14. A strained relationship with China.
  15. A cross-industry supply chain challenge as we get back to work.
  16. A new found appreciation of Scenario Planning in both the public and private sectors so to mitigate risk.
  17. Proof of global “interconnectedness” leads to greater geopolitical cooperation.
  18. A slow diminishing of mass shootings, hate crimes, and inner city violence.
  19. Modest progress in spanning the racial divide achieved through steady incremental institutional change.
  20. A greater awareness that we truly are “in it together.“

To Close

We have the prospect to come together, right now, to commit to whatever it takes to create a future that we can all be proud to leave to our grandchildren. Sure, we can choose to give into our often short-sighted and selfish tendencies and do nothing, or we can choose to use our collective capacity to make the changes needed to tackle the challenges that await us.

The choice is ours. Let us choose to become the Greatest Generation 2.0.