The future can be scary or exciting, depending on your point of view. For an older person, change can feel dramatic and unsettling. For a younger person, it might be exciting, but they can miss developing key skills as they rapidly embrace technology leaps.

For an organisation to thrive into the future, it needs to focus on building three areas:

Firstly, it needs Capability to operate – the right people and skills, financial control, appropriate equipment and systems.

Secondly it needs Agility – a growth mindset, problem solving approach, optimised processes, and feedback loops with forward looking responsiveness.

And the third requisite is Inspiration – direction, shared purpose, demonstrable leadership.

In the movie Invictus, Nelson Mandela is portrayed speaking with Francois Pienaar, the captain of the Springboks, before South Africa host the Rugby World Cup. As the new president in a racially divided nation, he has managed to convince the newly black-dominated South African Sports Committee to support the traditionally white Springboks, as he has a grand plan to unite the country over the sport.

Pienaar is captain of a team that has not been playing well, but Mandela knows they need a win to inspire the country. He tells Pienaar that leading by example is not enough. “We need inspiration, Francois. Because in order to build our nation we must exceed our own expectations”.

It’s a powerful movie, with Pienaar amazed and inspired that Mandela “could spend thirty years in a tiny cell and come out ready to forgive the people who put him there”. History shows the Springboks went on to win the World Cup, with the sport previously considered a ‘white sport’ supported by a united crowd.

How are you inspiring your crowd to unite them? Are they ready to face the inevitable changes the future brings?