What are You and Your Business Becoming

“Becoming” is a state of continuous learning and redefinition. The moment you stop Becoming, you start an inevitable slide towards irrelevance.

Kevin Kelly defined the term “Becoming” as one of the most prevalent trends in the next 30 years that will make or break businesses as well as individuals. He defines “Becoming” as; “technology is taking us to protopia. More accurately, we have already arrived in protopia. Protopia is a state of becoming, rather than a destination. It is a process. In the protopian mode, things are better today than they were yesterday, although only a little better.”

A simple example of this is when I graduated from university as an electrical engineer.

As a new graduate, I was required to work under the supervision of a professional engineer for a period of 2 years before I could write an exam that would allow me to call myself a professional engineer. This period of work experience and the exams were a way to prove that I could learn to apply my university knowledge to the real world of engineering. I was Becoming.

Similarly, I was Becoming when I advanced from a junior engineer to a senior engineer, and then a project manager, and eventually a business leader.

I could have decided to stay as an engineering graduate and not become a professional engineer. However, that would have seriously impacted my ability to advance myself any further in my career. I would have eventually become outdated and irrelevant to my employer.

Today, our world is changing faster than at any other time in history. With the advent of the internet, sharing of data, instant messaging and accelerating advancement in virtually every aspect of our society, our world is changing every second of every day! Consequently, much of what is learned from a technological standpoint a few years ago is no longer relevant today!

So, as business leaders, what can we do to create a maintain “protopia” or a state of Becoming?

How to Create a State of Becoming

There is no clearly defined path to “Becoming.” Every person is unique and is coming from a different place in life and going to a different place in life! Because of this, our “Becoming” paths will be very unique. However, many of the building blocks of Becoming are common between us. I have listed some of these below:

  1. Read – Educate and improve yourself through extensive reading. Read material in your area of expertise but broaden your horizons by reading in other areas that may provide crossover benefits. Take a look at this past post on reading.
  2. Courses – Take classes at universities, colleges, industry groups or online. There are many university level classes available for free online. For example, a few years ago I took the free online class led by Sam Altman. Quality training from such successful people was simply not available 10 years ago and now it is available on demand!
  3. Study trends – Watch the trends in your industry, in politics, in technology, etc. What can you learn from these trends? Where is society headed and how can you position yourself and your business to stay relevant?
  4. Industry groups – Actively participate in industry forums and research groups. Collaborate on industry group research projects. Contribute your expertise to these groups and the research efforts. You will be amazed by how much you learn and how much your business benefits!
  5. Mastermind Group, Board of Directors, and Advisor Group – Build these groups for yourself and be actively engaged in them …. See this past post for more information
  6. Hire Coaches – Don’t be afraid to hire a coach in an area where you may need help. A competent coach can help you improve must faster than any other method.
  7. Podcasts – Finally, there are millions of free podcasts available in virtually every subject. I listen to an eclectic collection of podcasts covering business, medicine, writing, marketing, sales, copywriting, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership, resiliency, and creativity.

Take Action

If you are lacking in any of the building block areas listed above, spend some time this week and determine how to set them up and establish yourself in a perpetual state of Becoming! Then determine how to do the same thing for your business. Make sure that your business itself is constantly learning, adapting, positioning, optimizing, and Becoming!

Also, take a look at a few of these past posts which also offer some good insight into Becoming:

  1. 5 Remarkable Principles That Will Guarantee Breakthrough
  2. Are You Mindlessly Hurtling Towards Irrelevance?
  3. How To Thrive In a World of Monumental Change
  4. 14 Easy Ways to Move Out of Your Comfort Zone

 

Be a lifelong student. The more you learn, the more you earn and the more self-confidence you will have.” Brian Tracy

 

Where are you and your business in the process of Becoming? Leave your comments below!

 

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