Instantly, work, and the world as we knew it, changed.

In one massive upheaval, our work, the world, and the economy shifted on its axis.

For years, many of us in this industry feared a massive disruption: disruption from Amazon, disruptions from suppliers selling direct, or disruption from buyers choosing to purchase only online.

None of us predicted a disruption quite like this, but it is still the disruption to our industry that we feared, a disruption that will forever change everything about the way we work.

When a once-in-a-lifetime global event such as what we’re experiencing right now, shakes our foundation, the world cannot simply retract to the way it was before.

For simple proof, think about the most significant, life-changing disruptions that have altered the course of your journey (good or bad: marriage, kids, a major illness, etc.) and consider how it changed your life forever: There was life “before” the disruption, and life “after.”

Unfortunately, many of you are stuck right now. You think that this experience is not a disruption but merely an aberration. You are waiting for “things to get back to normal,” and you sit in a holding pattern, watching, hoping.

But after such a cataclysmic event, the world we know can never be the same again.

From this moment on, the world will be divided between those who are looking backward, waiting for a return to “the way things used to be,” and those who are looking forward and know that we have entered a new world and are on a new journey.

The old ways of working, ways we have relied upon for years, will not suffice in this new world.

We’re starting a new series, one of the most important series we’ve ever launched, examining what the future world of work will look like. We’ll consider every major area affecting our industry:

The Future You: How the entrepreneurial leader of tomorrow must adapt to a new role, leading their clients and teams in non-traditional ways, a complete eradication of the idea of a “manager” and a new position of authority towards the customer.

The Future Customer: Who the client is now, why they have forever changed, the unknown in their world and how to solve for it, and what they will require from us in order to lead their future success.

The Future Team: Why the new workspace(s) requires a radical evolution, how the composition of your team needs to be re-engineered, why the new world requires a fundamentally different type of talent and how to train those on your team to adapt while learning how to attract and develop for these unique roles.

The Future Supply Chain: Why the supply chain is going through massive upheavals and the macroeconomic impact on sourcing and sustainability. And how the new client will require a collaboration from distributors and suppliers that moves the industry beyond mere product sourcing.

In storytelling, there is an archetypal story called “the hero’s journey,” that suggests that all stories -all stories in film, books, and even the story of your life- fit one universal pattern: The reluctant hero receives a call to adventure and leaves her known world to risk entering the unknown world. The hero sets out on the journey and along the way, meets the “threshold guardian,” a mentor and guide who equips the hero with the tools and the wisdom they need to cross the threshold into the unknown world, to conquer their fears, and complete their journey.

Through this series, we hope you will decide to become the hero of your own new story, to leave the old world behind and venture into the new world that awaits us.

We are merely helpers, but we’ll equip you and your team with radical perspectives, new tools, fresh ideas, and ultimately, we’ll create a map for navigating and thriving in this new world.

These resources explore how to set goals that help monitor progress, provide oversight, and motivate your team!