In a world of certainties, it is sometimes good to have doubts or at least a precautionary reflex. It is customary these days to be assertive, even arrogant, so as not to be seen as a has-been or a loser.
Of course, everything contributes to this way of looking at things: social networks, ambient youth focus, meritocracy pushed to the extreme, selfishness and egocentrism doped with synthetic products… The problem? It is often the same people who talk about degrowth or egalitarianism while criticising the “system”!
We are far from suggesting transgressive ideas or ideas that are contrary to current trends, but on closer inspection, certain doubts are more salutary than ready-made certainties.
The pandemic has caught almost everyone off guard. We were blinded by our own certainty that we had everything under control, that we could calculate and manage everything… In a world that wants to be transparent and conquering, it must be admitted, with a little irony, that this ‘clarification’ has reopened the debate on societal and individual questioning.
Far too many companies take growth, profits, customer base and product delivery for granted…
However, it is good to have some doubts sometimes to give a new dynamic, to review some obsolete schemes or to plan some alternatives: It is a simple question of common sense.
No management manual talks about this subject because it is a “blot on the landscape”: so why not deal with these subjects in a relaxed manner, with discernment while maintaining the initial objectives. The ability to question oneself must be part of the DNA of a business leader. This does not mean that one should doubt everything and anything.
Finding the balance between certainties and doubts is certainly a difficult exercise, not to say perilous, but it is a necessary step to progress, to improve what can be improved.
If we observe certain companies or individuals, blindness is always lurking, but are they even aware that the wind can change very quickly, even if their certainties are such that they think that society will come to their rescue: this is all the harm we can wish them.
To doubt sometimes is not to lose: it is to move forward with discernment.
Good thoughts and good reading.