Without listening, we’ll get nowhere
In two different speeches, in 1959 and 1960 respectively, J.F. Kennedy used the winged words which are still often cited: "In the Chinese language, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters, one representing danger and the other, opportunity." He wasn't president at that time, but did predict his future. During the next three years of his presidency he had to deal with the Cold War, Vietnam, the invasion of the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Oh yes, and an increasingly popular Martin Luther King.
It is fair to say that disruption can be seen throughout history. Every few decades, the need for change becomes urgent. Recent political landslides with key issues such as Donald Trump, Brexit, the outcome of the Italian referendum and the elections in Austria, indicate that this desire for change is now more acute than ever. People seem to be willing to take a gamble on the future, as long as things are different. It is not an exaggeration to say that - to use Kennedy's words - the world is in crisis.
In order to overcome the crisis, young people are voting for radical change. The older segment of the population tends to want to go back to how things were before. In effect, the progressive and the conservative view are two sides of the same coin: the negatively motivated protest vote. And to stick to Kennedy's terminology: it is in the protest vote that the danger of this crisis lies. I will leave it to the sociologists to explain this behaviour, but I can't shake off the impression that many people feel threatened. This is not surprising. The speed at which technological developments and trends follow one after another, ranging from terrorism to the stream of refugees, makes the world a more complicated and baffling place. That is threatening. Biologically, humans only have three possible ways of responding to threat: fight, flight or freeze.
Freezing seems the most dangerous and least preferred choice. But the willingness to fight is also lacking. Is there a fear that the battle would be lost from the outset? That the small individual is powerless and the crisis cannot be overcome? The longing for a past in which everything was better or a future in which problems magically disappear, are signs of flight behaviour. This is like sticking your head in the sand and crossing your fingers in the hope that everything will turn out well. A blind choice has been made to break away from the status quo. Who or what initiated this break is irrelevant. The same applies to the outcome.
Last year we saw voters put their fate into the hands of political leaders who have built their identity on precisely this break with the existing system. They are not necessarily experts in their field. Often, they cannot fall back on many years of experience but are mainly from other industry sectors. This is a precarious trend, and a trend that we must guard against encroaching into the world of business. I can't see myself managing a cycling team tomorrow, nor can I see my place being taken by the manager of a cycling team.
In times of crisis and chaos, more than ever, we need leaders with experience, expertise and a proven track record, both in politics and in business. Why then are we gambling on inexperienced politicians who are promising major change? Because they listen. They are in touch with what is happening in society and are conveniently using this as leverage. Let's learn our lessons from that. Expertise and experience are urgently needed for us to get through this crisis, but these qualities are sadly of no use at all if you are not in touch with the groundswell. As business leaders, let's seize those political developments to do it differently ourselves. The future will be driven by emotion. It is up to us to keep the finger on the pulse, to be aware of how people feel and how involved they are. If we succeed in this, we can turn this crisis - in the spirit of Kennedy - into an opportunity.
Bart De Smet, Chairman LEAD-IN