We’re Never Ready
Oh sure, maybe we’re ready for the easy stuff. Ready to leave for work, make dinner, hop in a Lyft, do the laundry, pay the credit card bill.
But the work that matters, that enlivens the spirit, that changes us, our tribes, and the world around us? That’s a whole different deal.
The journey to remarkable is much the same. Taking the plunge can be scary. But naming our fear is helpful, because it is our fear that keeps us stuck. Resistance is the dragon we must all slay. Letting go of any notion of perfection will help us stay on the path.
Being willing to get started—to accept that the only way we can ever really know that we are on the right path is to start walking, slowly at first, but faster and faster as we gain confidence—is essential.
If we keep waiting, what exactly is it that we are waiting for? More data? More clarity about the future? Our new hire to start? One more conference to attend? Maybe a sign from above or a direct order from our boss?
Because here’s the thing. The conditions will never be perfect. The time will never be right. I have little idea what’s going to happen in the future, and neither do you. But chances are, you already have everything you need to take that first step. And yeah, there’s a pretty good chance it might not work. But standing still, hoping for a little more analysis, a bit more polish, a really cool PowerPoint presentation, or picking up a new credential is not likely to work either.
Like it or not, it’s later than we think. The bullet of disruption has already been fired. We can wait until it hits us and cross our fingers we survive. Or not.
The fact is that we’re never really ready for what truly matters, for what’s urgently needed. But we can still start. And if not now, when?
“It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready. I have the feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any.”
—Hugh Laurie
The above is adapted from a section of Chapter 20 (“A Brave New World”) in my new best-selling book Remarkable Retail.
My 2024 Retail Predictions: A Reckoning
For the last several years, I've made a list of annual predictions for the retail industry, which I share here, on Forbes, and on my podcast. And then, in what can sometimes amount to an act of self-flagellation, I take account of how I did. So without further ado,...
Shift Happens
I grew up in the outlying suburbs of New York City in the 1960s and ’70s. Like other middle-class kids from the area, I spent many a weekend being dragged around by my mother to go shopping at stores like Abraham & Strauss, Caldor, and Bamberger’s. On family road...
Luxury Hits the Wall. What’s Going On and What’s Next?
Recent earnings reports from the world’s top luxury players have largely brought bad news. Moreover, a fair amount of uncertainty and chaos has been in the air all year as money-losing online-only players like Farfetch and YNAP have run into the arms of new corporate...
"The Store Operations Council enjoyed every minute of Steve Dennis's presentation on retail's future. He always keeps it real and speaks the language of retail experts."
Cathy Hotka
Principal
Cathy Hotka & Associates
"The Store Operations Council enjoyed every minute of Steve Dennis's presentation on retail's future. He always keeps it real and speaks the language of retail experts."
Cathy Hotka
Principal
Cathy Hotka & Associates
