The time of abundance is over...

The Belgian magazine Trends/Tendances published an article on August 26 with this title.

We have indeed entered a new paradigm - which I will come back to in another post - and the events that some call "black swan" such as the COVID 19 epidemic and the war in Ukraine accelerate the urgency of our response.

The article interviews 4 prominent people who deliver 4 interesting visions on our necessary adaptation to the end of abundance.

Here is what I take away.

According to economist Geert Noels, "scenario analysis makes you think about different systems. Compare it to chess: you don't analyse the situation for just one knight or pawn, but for the whole board. ". I am convinced that scenario analysis is currently the only way to develop a strategic vision. It allows us to adapt preventively to different plausible futures and to introduce agility in the organisation (even if the term agility is a bit overused and controversial sometimes). This is the approach that I defend with my clients and that I develop with them.

Tinneke Beeckman, a philosopher, reminds us of the meaning of freedom according to Niccolò Machiavelli: "He links this concept to circumstances and to a given moment. Freedom is doing what you can do, in a certain context. If that context changes, your freedoms change too." Rereading his classics is an endless source of inspiration!

Ignaas Devisch points to the tension between "the individual with his or her freedoms and preferences" and the common needs. "We would do well to adapt our expectations: here and there, the virtual world comes up against the limits of the physical. We must learn to rethink in terms of "We", in the societal sense, rather than "me".

Barbara Bries, a behavioural economist, highlights the need to find innovative solutions to needs that consumers can no longer (and will no longer) satisfy. Our world in transition offers an extraordinary opportunity for creatives, innovators and entrepreneurs!

What do you think about it?