The 'is,' 'was' and 'gonna be' world of BD

We’re all challenged to understand our rapidly changing business and personal environment in terms of the is, was and “gonna be”. This is from the principle that retired Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey speaks about in his book, No Time for Spectators, which is an excellent text on leadership.

Whether it’s in the world of security, military operations, medicine, engineering or other relevant area of our lives, data and intelligence is critical.

We share more insights on the importance of data and intelligence in our white paper covering the Intel Pyramid, Source HUMINT Not Data to Improve Your Win Rates.

Dempsey adeptly explains that data and intelligence regarding the present … what is happening in the moment … becomes quickly obsolete as it is communicated and acted upon. Put simply, the “is” immediately becomes the “was”, and the value of information becomes increasingly less valuable as time progresses.

In the current world of social medial and immediate communication on an instant basis, we can become increasingly overwhelmed and saturated with less valuable data and information to act upon.

Current and future leaders in both personal and business areas of life must pivot their thinking and be able to execute effectively in the “gonna be” world. For some of us, this is going to be the challenge of our lifetime. The social, political, medical, and economic disruption, which is happening in the moment, becomes the “was” intel in a 24-hour news cycle.

The amount of change taking place today is happening at an accelerated pace, and the information we receive regarding this makes it difficult to lead with “gonna be” thinking. This is where experience, maturity, wisdom, and instincts of leaders is helpful.

Regardless of these turbulent times, the republic will survive, the coronavirus will be arrested, the economy will re-bound, and we all will mature as stronger communities of individuals.

The test for business and business development leaders is to visualize the “gonna be” environment that your organization and business development professionals must operate in going forward.

This “gonna be” environment could include:

• Virtual video BD calls and follow ups.
• Virtual diagnostic pain interviews: a good example of this is telehealth physician visits used by medical professionals today.
• Working remotely and virtually with less personal interactions and contact with other individuals.
• International communications on a 24-hour basis.
• Receiving training and education online, on time, anywhere, on-demand.

These are only a few examples of the “gonna be” world of business development.

This change is not for the faint of heart and unfortunately some individuals won’t be able to make the transition. If you or your organization needs help in the pivot to the “gonna be” world, we urge you to reach out to us and we will personally share with you what we are doing to help folks like yourself make the transition.

I personally learned principles related to this from one of my mentors, Dr. Eugene W. Austin, MD. It involved my contracting rheumatic fever at the approximate age of 15 and being misdiagnosed as having the flu. Unfortunately, the data and information the medical professionals were looking at in the “is” and “was” timeframe was not correct. Fortunately my mother, a nurse, was referred to an excellent pediatrician in Dr. Austin who was able to correctly make the diagnosis, treat me to resulting in no lasting negative effects after spending 20 days in the hospital and 5 years of follow up treatments. Doctor Austin also taught me several principles during that time which are appropriate today especially in business development.

• First, that medicine is an art and a science much like the world of business development.
• Second, more people die from misdiagnosis than from mistreatment.
• Third, once the correct diagnosis is made, everyone has an opinion on how to treat the illness.

Going beyond the “is” and “was” and correctly diagnosing the “gonna be” in treating the illness correctly is applicable whether the situation relates personally or professionally or to medicine or business development.

Want more details on how to pivot to the “gonna be” in Business Development? Contact us at 704.553.0000 or info@mbdi.com.