Have times changed,or our perceptions?

A sense of turbulence

Having I guess, weathered many storms in my life,I now have come to ask a diabolical question: " Have times changed,or our perceptions?" 

The scripture says:"What has been, is what will be, and what has been done, is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.  "Ecclesiastes 1.1:11.

A Tamil sage put it in a different way: "nadantha thu, nadanthu mudintha thu." or in Sinhalese: "kernath ieverai".

Over the years, I have never felt I have operated in an environment of so much uncertainty on so many fronts,that I have wondered what was the game changer? Things and people have impacted on me so much that I have had to constantly reassess,review,re-prioritise my options, to the extent of having on occasions having to ratchet up my agility to seek a way to cope.

Various coping mechanisms 

We refer to turbulence as a passing phase, that would imply that it will soon settle down to  normal conditions,over time.However, that has not been the case recently and I doubt it will. Think of yourself going through troubled waters,rough seas,air pockets of stormy weather.Our immediate or gut reaction is that calmer and better atmospheric conditions will soon prevail. Strangely,everything or wherever we experience turbulence in today's world,we have to be ready to respond quickly and that requires "a high degree of tolerances for ambiguity, excellent stress management skills and agility".This has all sorts of implications for us as individuals.

I can recall times past, where it was equally stressful,equally demanding,but there was an equally conditioned change in the wings. Is it the pace of change that is different today or is it the pace of competition -"dog eat dog" that is bewildering us? Has the pace grown faster or slower? Can we compare this turbulence to either of the above."We are all in it together",that's what we are warned by many researchers.The perceived risk of this turbulence could perhaps be related to the various coping mechanisms we have to employ to mitigate the risk.

Downside of turbulence in business decisions

Perceived risks and uncertainty in business may we are warned will hardly decline in the years ahead. To keep abreast of developments is a must,to revisit our business plans more frequently. To consider scenario planning becomes necessary when uncertainty increases. We enter the portals of an era of strategic planning, with "what if's" scenarios to cope with this turbulence in business decisions.By thinking through a myriad of planned scenarios and designing strategies to deal with such eventualities,we become better prepared for turbulence. Like the Scout motto: "Be prepared," business has to make regular periodic risk assessments to be better prepared. 

Keeping an eye not primarily on expense but also on income, managing income accounts receivables, a strong cash position is what is needed to weather the turbulence. Planning for the future has always been done, but today it has become more difficult with imponderable scenarios.We need to enhance our awareness of the future risk and reward,so as to manage it better. 

Upside of turbulence   

How do we plan or how can we plan when plans become irrelevant? How can we best reconcile this paradox? How can we see spikes in confidence and fight our way through the turbulence?

There are two distinct approaches to mastering the brute force of our uncertain times. It lies in seizing opportunities as they arise. But,we also have to note that sentiments seem to shift much more rapidly than structural realities. 

We can employ agility to spot and exploit changes in the marketplace. Alternatively, we can rely on our will power to withstand change or in fact combine both approaches to our best advantage. 

The ability to consistently identify and seize business opportunities while retaining the structural characteristics to "weather change" will have the edge over our competition. Besides, some people I know,thrive on volatile situations. We need to learn from them their coping mechanisms. The crucial factors are speed of execution, swapping insights on the changing business landscape and improving efficiency.

Weathering the blows of turbulence is in the final analysis, the ability to outperform and outlast your rivals over time,by dexterity, mental and physical strength, or by building a war chest to create a buffer against the inevitable.

Victor Cherubim