The Myth of Futureproofing ANYTHING

The term Future proof is being used a lot over the past few years, and continues today.  You find it in advertisements for a number of products, like learning (Future Proof Your Job), career (enroll for this course to future proof your career), family and relationships (buy this product to future proof this relationship). Given my reading and experience, I wondered if any form of future-proofing would be possible in reality.  Here are some definitions of the term "future proof" that I checked from the net to see if my understanding matched (it did).

Future proof is a term used to describe a product, service, or business that is designed or structured to withstand the challenges of the future. www.bluestonepim.com

to design software, a computer, etc. so that it can still be used in the future, even when technology changes - Cambridge Dictionary

If you future-proof something, you design or change it so that it will continue to be useful or successful in the future if the situation changes - Collins Dictionary

As you can see, the definitions talk about the ability of something to stay relevant and useful even when surrounding circumstances change in the future.  

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The reality is that knowing what is in the future is one thing, but knowing what the future means is an entirely different matter.

Considering that the number of events that have occurred in the world over the past 8 years (like the lockdowns) were mostly unpredictable, the results of those events could not have been visualized or understood immediately.  What we know is that very little of what we have known for sure in the past has remain unchanged.  Even without the explosion of AI tools, the requirement for people to adapt has greatly increased in the past 30 years.  

The impact of AI tools is still taking place, in ways we haven't understood or imagined yet - for eg. the impact of AI systems on the planet's environment is not talked about as much as it could be.  The current war in the middle east and other domestic and international policies provide zero indication of things stabilizing, and while adaptability is once more a key skill for humans,  in reality, what are the chances of really futureproofing anything?

What can you do?

• Develop awareness of yourself i.e. strengths, weaknesses, and so on.  I've given more details in this video here - https://youtu.be/9etu02AtSJA. 
• Upgrade yourself. Keep learning things that you could possibly turn into a career and make money.
• Study trends - political and market. Review the recent past, keep an eye on current trends and attempt to discern which way the wind seems to be blowing.
• Get a mentor or coach - It always helps to have someone to talk to about such things.  If there's someone in the family who you trust and look up to for advice, then please do that, or else put aside funds to engage a professional (like me).
• Build your network - become known in the industry you work or want to work.  Essentially, it means be polite to everyone you meet, without evaluating how someone may be able to help you.
• Do your own due diligence - Beware of tall claims, should you wish to opt for one of the offers of future proofing, and take the time to understand what contingencies they have planned for, what costs are involved, including time (you definitely can't get your time back), do reference checks on your own, be clear about the benefits that are being promised.  Some of these offers may actually suit your needs, especially if they're being open and honest with you.

Finally - don't believe all the ads you see about future proofing your job, career, business, industry.  Nobody really knows the future either. 

The Need for R & R - Reward and Responsibility

R&R, in HR parlance (also understood beyond the fraternity) means Reward and Recognition.  It refers to recognizing (non-monetary means) and rewarding (monetary means), or both, the contribution of employees at all levels. The method of rewarding and recognizing such contribution varies from organization to organization.  

There is the stated expectation from the management i.e. leadership is that such R & R will "motivate" employees to put in more effort and contribute more productively in their roles. An unspoken hope in in the mind of the management is also that the employee will now take on additional responsibility without an increase in their compensation and/or change in grade.

Pic credit: pexels-cottonbro-3826576

In reality, these hopes rarely met sufficient or effective results.  Why? There are a number of reasons for this, and I'd recommend the book "Punished By Rewards" by Alfie Kohn for a brilliantly lucid perspective on this.  

Furthermore, this approach to Rewards and Recognition has led to problems when we try to find leaders from within the organization based on "past performance and rewards" alone.  There's a strong need to include a Potential Assessment along with regular Career Development Conversations within this process, but not every organization is keen on investing time and resources in this intervention, though they understand the benefits.  This state of affairs is compounded by the adoption of AI over the past few years, which has disrupted everyone's thinking about careers.

Here's what I propose for the organization's search for it's next leaders..

What if we shifted this Rewards and Recognition nomenclature to

R&R - Rewards and Responsibility?

Here's the inspiration for my article - an excerpt from Patrick Leddin's newsletter where he is in conversation with Patrick Lencioni (author of the Five Dysfunctions of a Team)

"During our conversation, we explored why people so often step away from the most important parts of leadership once things get difficult. Pat explained that it frequently comes down to motive.

Some people are reward-centered. They step forward because of what leadership gives them: recognition, control, influence, or the feeling that they have finally arrived. Leadership becomes a position or a prize.

Others are responsibility-centered. They see leadership as, in Pat’s words, a “huge and overwhelming responsibility.” These people understand that stepping forward means taking on the hardest work first. That work shows up in many forms: developing others, having honest conversations, making decisions that are uncomfortable, communicating more than feels necessary, and staying present when things get messy.

None of that work is glamorous. It takes energy, patience, and consistency. You cannot fake it. You cannot outsource it. And you cannot ignore it without consequences."

So, what would Reward and Responsibility mean, if we consider the above context? 

1. It would mean that we are communicating to our people (particularly those with the promotion itch) that "you are being rewarded not just because of your contribution in the past, but also because we see potential in in you and expect you to step up to future responsibilities as proactively as you can within all the constraints in your way". 
2. It would mean that you are now among various other top performing employees in preferential (fast track)contention for further roles in the organization's growth story. 

Quite a few large organizations do have an effective Fast Track growth path for key performers.  In these fast track growth paths, employees are explicitly told what roles they are being considered for.  They are put into special development paths. 

The obvious benefits are improved productivity and leadership pipeline.  

The not-so-obvious benefits are employee engagement, ease of hiring and retention  of key talent. 

I'd like to share an example of this that I witnessed some years ago. At the start of a senior leadership program I was conducting for a large organization, the C-suite leader set the context for the two days, explicitly conveying to the participants what some of the future growth plans of the organization were, and how there was a need for more leaders, reiterating that this training was one of the opportunities being provided to the participants to step up into regional leadership roles.

High rewards should to be accompanied by higher responsibility.  When you are allocating rewards to your team, be sure to ensure that your conversation of appreciating and rewarding their performance also includes nudging them toward taking greater responsibility.

If you feel that that you are leadership material, and leadership roles are all about the recognition, control, influence as mentioned above, then also be aware that the other points of developing others, honest (and difficult) conversations of all types and tough decisions and so on mentioned above are also a major part of the your leadership role.

Serious about to work on developing, enhancing and showcasing your leadership capability to meet future leadership needs? Write to me at ryanbbarretto@hotmail.com or call on +919820155778 so we can schedule a discussion.

Disclaimer - I don't get compensated for mentioning Alfie Kohn's book or Patrick Leddin's newsletter.  I like sharing useful and thought-provoking information with my readers.

Know Yourself - What it really means

Here's a video where I talk about what one really should know in order to know oneself.

Why? Knowing yourself means you then can introspect and clearly understand yourself which would guide you into making effective decisions in your life and career.

All comments invited.

https://youtu.be/9etu02AtSJA 

Building Competence

 Look -> See -> Notice -> Identify / analyze -> Comprehend -> Apply as required

Excelling in only one of these doesn't guarantee success.  Excelling in all is quite impossible. Yet, success will not happen without these #competencies - no matter if you are a junior employee or a senior leader, and no matter the function and industry you work in.

What are you great at? Where would you like to get better?

Working with a strengths coach is more effective that going at it alone. Let's have a discussion - Leave me a message here or call on +919820155778.

Workshop work - Influencing Mindshift

The world moves with conversations and decisions.  Some of these decisions happen with internal conversations with oneself, some with external conversations i.e. with other people.  (Pic Courtesy - pexels-isaquepereira-394377)

Making a decision or getting people to decide involves change - which is easier said that done.  Most of the time, people hate change because change is hard, because even though the change is in their best interests, they love their comfort zone more, among other reasons for loving or hating people, things, directions (sometimes based on conscious or unconscious biases).  

As most people are aware, convincing someone to change their minds is not as easy as it sounds, and takes lots of time and effort. You have to carefully craft your message. Why? 

You don't want to come across as pushy and dominating

Whether as a leader or a parent,  people do use their own minds (in ways you haven't fully considered or predicted), so you have to plan to predict and how to manage the objections that inevitability come up.

All of this mostly increases your blood pressure before providing a modicum of tangible results.

Because of these factors, I consider convincing or influencing to be the most superior form of communication.  

In organization's speed is of the essence, hence I put together a workshop that consisted of exercises and activities including roleplays, around Robert Cialdini's Principles of Influence, Levers of Change by Howard Gardner, and Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, and spent some time around building a growth mindset (change is easier when you can influence that in others). 

I used a mix of reflective activities, facilitator-led discussions, personally designed facilitation processes and group discussions to enable participants to arrive at a deeper understanding of influence and mindset.

Here's some pics of the action including participant's insights and actions of this workshop titled "Influencing Mindshift" that I conducted for leaders of a consulting organization:

Deep Dive Into Influencing

Participants' Insights

Action Planning

Want to know more about the session, or want to run this for your organization or team, let's talk - call on +919820155778.

The Books I read in 2025

 Here's what I did in the world of reading in 2025.

As usual, it's a mix of both fiction and non-fiction.  I'd say the most intriguing books for me in the fiction category are "Snow Crash" and "Three Body Problem".

In non fiction, I found "Open Space Technology", "The Choice Factory", "Dialogue" and "The Misfit's Manifesto" extremely powerful, and definitely recommended for those in the space of leadership and learning.

Click here to know which books I read, and the reviews I have left

Happy New Year 2026

 

My wish for your New 2026 for you and your loved ones