We are full swing into the era of turbulence, and at this time, our creativity is more important than ever. We have heard many scholars and business leaders ask the question, “Can we invent and innovate effectively to keep up with the fast changes happening around us?” This chapter explores how to develop a heightened creativity and help weak economic areas by using technology, the arts, and our unique cultures to ignite economic development. Attracting tourism; young, talented people; and entrepreneurs to rural and urban cores is essential to thrive in turbulent times. In times of turbulence, organizations often navigate on autopilot, failing to see unintended circumstances and implications. However, every time a decision is made there is a trade-off. A true understanding of the trade-off may determine success or failure. Failure could mean very high cost either monetarily or the organizational future in the marketplace.
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Turbulence is life force. It is opportunity. Let's love turbulence and use it for change-Rosemary Clark
As turbulence becomes the new normal, organizations will find it necessary to build their organizations’ agility and absorption. Agility being a company’s ability to consistently identify and capture business opportunities at a faster pace than that of their competitors. This agility allows them to relocate resources, including cash and talent, from less promising initiatives into more creative initiatives. Absorption is a complement to agility. Absorption is the ability to build resources, both in talent, cash flow and products/services. Together agility and adsorption allow an organization to adopt and move quickly in turbulent times, and to withstand the punishment of tough times, even if size could hinder their dexterity (Whalen, 2016).
With change being a constant, and with turbulence possibly being the new norm, disruptive creative leadership or self-disruptive leaders will be needed to ignite the creative economy; which will lead to the development of new technologies that enable the building of a sustainable community, quality of life, and a healthy socio-economic society. The case studies at the end of this chapter and through the book highlight self-disruptive leaders who are developing organizations that are disruptive and through heightened creativity, they are igniting economic development that is not only sustainable but is attracting many young professionals from across the U.S. and globally. This, a new model of business through disruptive leadership and the creative economy, is our future.
The future could be determined by seeing the wicked opportunities in turbulence instead of the wicked problems. When addressing those wicked problems, an organization’s agility and absorption may determine their ability to sustain (Whalen, 2016).
Collective societies are on one hand intimately connected to one another via the internet and social media. However, rapidly changing events, and the flood of incorrect information competing with accurate information, significantly influences local communities as well as the global society. Governance will be more difficult in a turbulent changing world. New structures and systems may have to be implemented for success. The management guru Peter Drucker surmised, “Turbulent times can be analyzed, predicted and managed” (Drucker, 1980, pp 45-60), however, leaders who seek stability, will be surprised to learn that stability is not achievable.
In this new modern turbulent world, previous concepts of stability are antiquated. In addition, current management and leadership skills are inadequate. The new unstable, shifting finish line means that leaders will have to change or be outpaced (Volkers & Skeet, 2016). In addition, with the advent of the third stage of singularity adds a new dimension to turbulence associated with the coming Fifth and Sixth Industrial Revolutions, turbulence is the new norm, thus, bringing about the need for leaders to expand from transformational and authenticity to being “Self-Disruptive Leaders”. The future could influence a new enlightenment, focusing on the need for the personal mastery of lifelong learners, who live continually in the fundamental state of leadership as self-disruptive leaders. Such mastery enables leaders to become higher functioning leaders, where divergent decisions can recognize wicked opportunities in the mist of wicked problems.