Happy Wednesday! This week we are exploring, “What Time is It in the World?.” On Monday, we touched on the benefit of asking this kind of question (it helps us perform more effectively in today’s turbulence).[1] Today I’m highlighting that we are living in a time of transition.
“A Time of Transition”
We live within a time of great change. A seismic shift is occurring, delineating the edges of a world that once was and a new world that is coming into being. Many people skilled in the art of contextual thinking have been alerting us to the significance of this moment:
“We are undergoing a crisis, torn between an old world that is coming to an end and a new world that has already begun.”~Dr. Maria Montessori, Education and Peace
“We are experiencing a change of age…We are still in the period of transition from one age to another, standing with one foot in each.”~Russel Ackoff, Ackoff’s Best
“Our moment of disruption deals with death and rebirth. What’s dying is an old civilization … what’s being born is less clear but in no way less significant.”~Otto Scharmer, Leading from the Emerging Future
“We are at that very point in time when a 400-year-old age is dying and another is struggling to be born ~ a shifting of culture, science, society, and institutions enormously greater than the world has ever experienced.”~Dee Hock, One From Many
What have you been noticing about what has been and what is coming into being?
Works Cited:
[1] Contextual Thinking is one of four “mega-skills” Theo Dawson of Lectica has identified as essential for effective performance under VUCA conditions (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity).