Adapting is the ‘new’ norm!

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most
intelligent, it is the one that is most adaptable to change.” Charles Darwin. What are the skills for adaptability? And will these play a role in us creating a new norm post the
pandemic…will the new norm now…become the norm !!. The pandemic almost pushed us all into learning how to adapt…some of us did it better than others and some are still adapting. Join me on this podcast as I share more on this subject and how to navigate using the maverick way !

Transcript

The year is 2006 and I am conducting a training using a new program at the time, Dim dim. I’m sitting in my office in one city in India and the trainees are spread all over. That was 15 years ago and it was thought to be something different – no one was really doing this! Who would have thought that the world would come 360 and now virtual trainings and meetings are the norm. Of course, not many would be familiar with those virtual platforms of the early days and technology has also dramatically improved over the years. Today one can have break out rooms, virtual whiteboards for ideation, reactions, conduct meeting polls in real time, chats, recordings and of course it’s only getting better. In fact now you have VR games as well. And VR is being used to enhance education too.

And we’ve adapted. Let me ask you something, how many of you have had this experience? You know when you’re using a soap and the last bit of soap is left…just a sliver. Well, many of us attach this sliver to the new bar of soap…and what happens…well, the old sliver of soap just melts into the new bar…like new skin. Ha ha… That’s exactly what we’ve done over the last few years and more so in the last year…just slithered in..adapted, become one with the new reality, blended in …just like that old bar of soap!

It’s fascinating, right? The way we’ve adapted to the new reality. I mean, we ‘ve taken virtual socialization to another level – having zoom parties, get togethers, cutting birthday cakes, playing games in the virtual space, having singing nights, movie nights and performances too! Wow! This was unheard of some decades ago and now we can’t live without it. See that’s the other thing. We adapt and adapt and before we know it, that’s our reality.

Now graduations are virtual, conferences are virtual. Even weddings and funerals…To be honest, this is scary at times. I wonder if we’ll get so ‘adapted’ to this virtual way that we may even opt for this rather than the physical meeting, the workplace. Who knows, right? For example, we’ve forgotten how to use the stationery phone instrument. You don’t even see these now except for intercoms or hotel rooms. Everything is with your cell phone. There is a plus side to it though, earlier one never thought to connect everyone for birthdays or other special occasions and we just got photos or videos of the event…but now, everyone, regardless of the physical place, is linked. It’s cut down the geographical barrier and helped in connecting everyone so effortlessly.

Do you know that recently McDonald’s released its coffee ad on a bill board and had ‘actual smoke’ coming out of the billboard tempting viewers to taste a cup. Yes, actual smoke! It was released in Germany and made heads turn. Now the only thing missing is the ‘smell’ of coffee…but given the way we’re going, I am sure we shall soon have the coffee smell experience too on a bill board! Ha ha….I’ve started feeling nothing is impossible. There are no rules, no boundaries. It’s all in the mind. 2020 has shown us that. 

Now you know being a Maverick at heart, and with all the exploring, we’ve been adapting to new ways of doing things for decades now. We’ve always had to adapt as we changed countries and continents. Adapt to the way of life, the culture, traditions, language…everything.

A friend of mine shared his experience when he first came to the US, he went grocery shopping and then at the checkout counter, he was lost. Meaning, the lady kept asking him paper or plastic and he had absolutely no idea what she was talking about! He kept excusing himself and she kept repeating herself. It was funny when he shared the story but definitely not funny at the time. Ultimately, the lady threw up her hands in the air and just gave him his grocery in plastic bags. Later, he realized, the lady was giving him an option about packing his grocery in either paper bags or plastic bags. This is the common way in the US but for someone coming in new, it didn’t make sense. However, now here’s the thing, we adapt. Before you know it, you reach the grocery counter and without thinking just say, paper as if you were always doing so!

It’s the same thing with items, you know what I mean, something like a napkin, it’s called different things, tissues, serviettes in different countries. I always had this challenge, as I used to shuttle between countries for some time, between where I worked and where the family was. And we would go out, and I would ask in the restaurant for napkins and the person would stare at me…and then I would say, oh no, its tissues, or serviettes, depending on which country I was at the time. Again, adapting to wherever I was. Oh that brings another interesting thing to my mind….heard of a Robot? I mean who hasn’t right….one thinks of the so called ‘traditional’ robot….but in South Africa, the robot is the traffic light. When we first reached there, we got directions like take left from the robot and would wonder….as we were familiar with traffic lights or signal being the terminology…but then very soon, we were also giving directions using robot in our language. Funny how these things just come into you.

So what are the skills for adaptability? And will these play a role in us creating a new norm post the pandemic…and yes, we say it’s the new norm now…but very soon it will be the norm. And we wouldn’t even blink while wearing our masks, limiting social gatherings, doing virtual celebrations, and of course continuing our hygiene/sanitizing practices…right? I see my 3 and a half year old niece, she just puts on her shoes and then her mask (which is quite a cute spiderman one) quite matter of factly…every time she’s getting ready to go out. Now as she grows up, for her this is the norm…Adaptation leading to establishing a new norm, right?

Well, the definition of Adaptability states that it’s a soft skill that means being able to rapidly learn new skills and behaviours in response to changing circumstances. It’s increasingly being seen as a critical one that employers look for when recruiting. Being able to adapt is critical to growth. You may be aware of the words spoken by Charles Darwin, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, it is the one that is most adaptable to change.” A critical skill for adaptability is to change one’s thought process…you know, move away from thinking…it’s always done like this and so I’ll keep doing it. Embrace change and embrace learning. The pandemic almost pushed us all into learning how to adapt…some of us did it better than others and some are still adapting. 

You know the key element of the Maverick formula, falling forward? Well, adaptability, learning new skills, new ways of doing things and then always always moving forward is critical for our well being, our success. Think about it. How much have you adapted? What are you still struggling with? Remember, we are ourselves creating the new norm.