Change is constant. And change is hard. Fortunately, I’ve had the rare gift of learning from one of the most effective changemakers in business today — Beth Comstock, author of the book, Imagine It Forward.
Comstock is famous for her innovative leadership style and courage to make meaningful change happen within organizations. Her extraordinarily successful career includes holding the positions of President of Integrated Media at NBC Universal, GE‘s first chief marketing officer in twenty years, and GE Vice Chair. But Comstock is also responsible for leading the award-winning GE Imagination At Work, GE Innovation, and GE Ecomagination initiatives. Beth has been named to the Fortune and Forbes lists of the world’s most powerful women and a LinkedIn Top 10 Influencer.
Imagine It Forward By Beth Comstock
Beth Comstock’s first book, Imagine It Forward, will undoubtedly provide inspiration for many entrepreneurs and business people that strive to become changemakers. Comstock’s advice in the book reads as nothing but genuine, her chronicles candid in an innovator’s journey navigating tension within an organization.
Here are a few takeaways from the book Imagine It Forward to provide you with inspiration to embrace change:
“The future is not in our stars but in our imaginations, and our actions.” ~ Beth Comstock
“People who effect radical change have to exhibit an uncompromising faith in experimentation, a bias for novelty and action, and a sense that disruption is something you cause, not observe.” ~ Beth Comstock
“You don’t just work submissively for a company you tolerate. You agitate, sometimes rebelliously, to craft it into something great.” ~ Beth Comstock
“In change, people have to find their own path. You can’t mandate how that happens. But you can create the right conditions.” ~ Beth Comstock
“Discovery is about engaging the world as a classroom, to extract the ideas that will create the future.” ~ Beth Comstock
“The pace of change is never going to be slower than it is today.” ~ Beth Comstock
“Get comfortable with not knowing, with living in the in-between of what was and what will be.” ~ Beth Comstock
“Emergent change seems impossible until it happens, at which point it becomes inevitable.” ~ Beth Comstock
“Getting people to adopt a new way of doing things, mobilizing them around a new story, is the part of innovation.” ~ Beth Comstock
“Change is a messy, collaborative, inspiring, difficult, and ongoing process — like everything meaningful that leads to human progress.” ~ Beth Comstock
“We can’t make uncertainty go away. But we can change the way we react to it. Every uncertainty is a new potential future.” ~ Beth Comstock
“You have to imagine a future that others can’t see and then make it real.” ~ Beth Comstock
“Strategy is a story well told.” ~ Beth Comstock
“Act boldly on instinct; do not wait for the data to tell you what to do. You have to respect the data but love imagination more.” ~ Beth Comstock
“If failure is not an option, then neither is success.” ~ Beth Comstock
“You don’t just live a life; you blunder your way toward creating the one you love.” ~ Beth Comstock
“Who are you waiting for to tell you it’s okay? Your boss? Your mother? Yoda? Grab your own permission. No one is going to give it to you.” ~ Beth Comstock
“Today I’m giving myself permission to: ___________.” ~ Beth Comstock
Have You Read The Imagine It Forward Book By Beth Comstock?
Do you have the book Imagine It Forward? How do you approach change? Please tell us in the comments below or mention @methodshop and the hashtag #ImagineItForward online.
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