ANTICIPATE
WHY IT MATTERS
Anticipation is the ability to foresee and prepare for the unknown. It is taking the time to think through every outcome and contingency that could happen in order to ensure you are ready if they do happen. Leaders who can anticipate see farther ahead than their peers do. They keep their eyes to the future. They stay one step in front of the pack, and are rarely caught by surprise. Because they can see things before others do, or see things others don’t, they are the first in line to resolve, take advantage of, or avoid what is coming around the corner. Leaders that don’t anticipate what is coming may find their best efforts derailed when they are caught off guard by what they should have seen and been ready to handle.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Leaders who anticipate know the importance of identifying what might come next and being prepared for the unknown. They live with an eye to the present and an eye to the future. They accomplish the work of today while constantly looking for clues to help them understand the work of tomorrow.
Leaders that anticipate are always learning. They fill their time learning from everything in their reach including research studies, magazines and journals, books, thought leaders, and industry peers. They look outside their organization to better understand what could happen inside their organization. They get connected to their professional industry to help them understand where things are shifting, and position themselves to be on the cutting edge.
Leaders that anticipate put in place systems to gather and analyze data. They work to identify the right data, gather it in the best way, interpret it correctly, and project it accurately. They know that data can become a lens through which they can see around corners.
Leaders that have the ability to anticipate lead their teams in exercises to brainstorm and define the impossible. They stimulate break-box thinking. They push people to rewrite the rules and question assumptions. They rally others to try and uncover the “next big idea.”
Leaders who anticipate what is coming stop and ask hard questions. They pause their work, gather others around them, and focus on real inquiries such as “what are we not seeing”, “what did we forget”, and “what could go wrong that we haven’t thought about”?
Leaders that anticipate stay intimately connected to their customers. They know that studying their customers will give them insights into how to be successful today, and show them how to be successful in the future. They identify a customer’s blossoming need before others do.
Leaders that anticipate are flexible to allow for sudden alterations to their work. They know that anticipation can mean abrupt change. They stay poised to make drastic turns or shifts whenever necessary.
Leaders that anticipate plan ahead. They don’t just plan for what they know, but they plan for what they don’t know. They identify everything that could go wrong, and put in place contingency plans to ensure they can respond to each potential outcome.
BELIEFS
BEST PRACTICES
SELF-REFLECTION
WORDS OF CAUTION
PSYCHOMETRIC 360 QUESTIONS
Anticipation is the ability to foresee and prepare for the unknown. It is taking the time to think through every outcome and contingency that could happen in order to ensure you are ready if they do happen. Leaders who can anticipate see farther ahead than their peers do. They keep their eyes to the future. They stay one step in front of the pack, and are rarely caught by surprise. Because they can see things before others do, or see things others don’t, they are the first in line to resolve, take advantage of, or avoid what is coming around the corner. Leaders that don’t anticipate what is coming may find their best efforts derailed when they are caught off guard by what they should have seen and been ready to handle.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Leaders who anticipate know the importance of identifying what might come next and being prepared for the unknown. They live with an eye to the present and an eye to the future. They accomplish the work of today while constantly looking for clues to help them understand the work of tomorrow.
Leaders that anticipate are always learning. They fill their time learning from everything in their reach including research studies, magazines and journals, books, thought leaders, and industry peers. They look outside their organization to better understand what could happen inside their organization. They get connected to their professional industry to help them understand where things are shifting, and position themselves to be on the cutting edge.
Leaders that anticipate put in place systems to gather and analyze data. They work to identify the right data, gather it in the best way, interpret it correctly, and project it accurately. They know that data can become a lens through which they can see around corners.
Leaders that have the ability to anticipate lead their teams in exercises to brainstorm and define the impossible. They stimulate break-box thinking. They push people to rewrite the rules and question assumptions. They rally others to try and uncover the “next big idea.”
Leaders who anticipate what is coming stop and ask hard questions. They pause their work, gather others around them, and focus on real inquiries such as “what are we not seeing”, “what did we forget”, and “what could go wrong that we haven’t thought about”?
Leaders that anticipate stay intimately connected to their customers. They know that studying their customers will give them insights into how to be successful today, and show them how to be successful in the future. They identify a customer’s blossoming need before others do.
Leaders that anticipate are flexible to allow for sudden alterations to their work. They know that anticipation can mean abrupt change. They stay poised to make drastic turns or shifts whenever necessary.
Leaders that anticipate plan ahead. They don’t just plan for what they know, but they plan for what they don’t know. They identify everything that could go wrong, and put in place contingency plans to ensure they can respond to each potential outcome.
BELIEFS
- Gathering and analyzing data is one of the best tools to help you see where things are going and what might be coming.
- You have to be an active part of your professional industry if you are going to feel the shifts in its direction.
- Leaders that anticipate best are those that ask the best questions. Anticipating means asking better questions than anyone else.
- You will never see what you are looking for if you are not actively trying to look for it.
- Anticipation is all about stopping and really thinking about what could happen given many different scenarios.
- If you need to know what’s coming next, pay attention to, follow, study, research, and watch your customers closely.
- Some of the most important questions a leader can ask are, “what could go wrong”, “what am I not seeing” and “what is coming?”
- Smart leaders don’t consider a plan of action complete until they have plans in place for contingencies.
BEST PRACTICES
- Look for new industry trends.
- See what the data is telling you.
- Think of problems that could happen.
- Play out possible scenarios in your head.
- Ask “what could possibly go wrong?”
- Create backup plans for every scenario.
- Take time to ask, “What did we forget?”
- Analyze your competitor’s behavior.
- Follow industry thought leaders.
- Always be gathering new information.
- Study your customer’s behavior.
- Join a professional network.
- Track technology changes.
- Analyze every decision for unseen impacts.
- Seize your windows of opportunity.
- Study new industry research.
- Stay up to date on trends.
- Keep an open mind in all situations.
- Look for “the writing on the wall.”
- Always ask, “what is next?”
- Look for the “next big thing.”
- Keep your gaze towards the future.
SELF-REFLECTION
- Do I focus on preparing for what is next, or does the unknown catch me off guard?
- Do I keep my mind pointed towards the future, or do I get consumed by the present?
- Do I look outside my organization for clues to trends, or do I keep my focus solely inside my organization?
- Do I study data to gain insights into what is coming around the next corner, or do I need to use data better?
- Do I pause to brainstorm new ideas and possibilities, or do I rarely ask future-related questions?
- Do I ponder about “what am I not seeing” or “what did I forget,” or do I push ahead without pause?
- Do I identify and plan for every contingency, or do I create plans that are too limited in scope?
- Do I stay flexible to last minute changes, or am I too rigid to adjust to the unexpected?
WORDS OF CAUTION
- Don’t become so focused on what could happen in the future that you don’t see what is happening today.
- Don’t be so paranoid planning for what could go wrong that you waste resources that should be used elsewhere.
- Don’t look so hard to see something that could be there that you inadvertently perceive something that isn’t there.
PSYCHOMETRIC 360 QUESTIONS
- It’s easy for me to connect what is happening now to the future.
- Having data from today helps me understand tomorrow.
- I am very flexible when changes need to be made.
- I am always thinking about the future.
- I regularly read literature from leaders in my industry.