Startup Digital or Physical
Design Humans or Machines
Lead Flux or Fun in Nature
Resilience is that framework of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or even significant sources of risk. In simple terms, we might describe resilience as the ability to bounce back when something goes wrong rather than crack under pressure. The good news is that everyone has some resilience, only in varying degrees. It’s important to note that a person with resilience still feels the intensity of a difficult situation—they’ve just found a better (and quicker) way of dealing with it. Work environments today are often uncertain, complex, volatile and ambiguous. Whether your company is being downsized or you got passed over for that juicy promotion, many scenarios could threaten to derail your career. Resilience is fundamental to successfully navigating those inevitable career challenges. Fortunately, resilience can be learned, and not surprisingly, it can make or break your career.
Recognizing the crucial role that imagination plays in advancing both design and sciences would translate to a culture that fosters innovation by rewarding creativity. Conventional groupthink could be circumvented by populating selection committees of funding agencies with creative individuals rather than with traditional thinkers. A culture of innovation would also benefit from overlap spaces where scientists and artists interact.
Another feature to consider is that if there is more structure and risk mitigation, ensuring that your creative work-products are delivered on schedule. You are responsible for developing and implementing your creative works, among other tasks. And, as you progressively become leader or seeker, you have specific resources assigned to those tasks and concrete deadlines that needed to be met. Although the work was clearly structured, it was not always easy, and there were times when extended team efforts were required.
Working in individual purpose tends to be much more ad-hoc, with flexibility to choose what you work on and when. This arrangement can be great, especially for people with strong focus and time-management skills. However, it might not be ideal for everyone, and it takes time to adapt. You might find yourself overwhelmed by passing time with scarce results. Although some risks are considered and mitigation measures taken in individual purpose, this is not done as rigorously as in industry. The chances of bottlenecks, especially for collaborative work, are therefore higher in individual purpose.
