Embrace Uncertainty!

For me, life and business has always been unpredictable.
From 7 years working for a media group with a fluid, evolving role, to 9 years working for myself, I’ve never known what's around the corner, never had a grand plan. Instead, it’s all been gloriously random.

This was what my session with Melissa Pierce at this year's SXSW was all about - the beauty of the unplanned life. It’s a constant theme in many of my business relationships. I talked about it recently with Chris Barez-Brown of ?What If! and he agreed that even for a company like ?What If!, it's difficult having long term plans.

So I forget sometimes that this scrambled up world of work is not everyone's story. A friend of mine who's been made redundant is keeping busy at an interim sales role while he's applying for tens of jobs. But he told me he was very frustrated that he couldn’t plan for the future; not just career plans but what he and his wife were doing at the weekend. He found this uncertainty unsettling, and understandably so. And sure, if you're used to stability and a role with certainty, that change can be a huge culture shock.

I guess uncertainty is something I have got used to. I know what I’m doing next month, but literally, I have no idea what I am doing in July. Sure, that’s scary when you run your own business but I like the opportunities that come from being open-minded and reactive. A meeting tomorrow can – suddenly – change things. That’s always been my story.

So who knows what the rest of 2009 will bring. Is it going to be tough? Sure. Is there going to be uncertainty. Yes.

Success and survival - as ever - will be about being flexible, reactive, quick to embrace and monetise opportunities and my strategy for the next few months will be that I have employed before: MAKE IT UP AS YOU GO ALONG.