How is Dot Connector’s team making sense of this volatile moment?
Many months before November’s election, here at Dot Connector we were already deep in the foresight trenches with our clients, imagining how the post-inauguration period might play out. But even with all of that future-proofing, the speed and callousness with which this new administration set about dismantling our democracy and the world’s economy shocked us.
So, we took a bit of time to reflect and reorient—both together, and on our own. Here’s what came forth.
Credit: Image from Evan’s first roll of film at age 14, early spring. Explore more of his creative work here.
Letting go of everything I think I know
“In order to build in the world that’s emerging, we must deepen our communities and break down the separation between our notions and ideas of ourselves—while also being sacred in our boundaries, and staying resolute in our own personal healing,” writes our associate director Evan Walsh in this deeply personal and contemplative essay.
“How can we be radically honest and share ourselves openly, while also creating safe enclaves that guard the sacredness of our own hearts, and that protect our dear communities from the immense danger we are facing? The broadening and tightening required of this moment seem to pull in opposite directions; I believe these two forces will brighten one another if we learn to practice them with full embodiment.”
Career planning for an age of constant disruption
“As we enter an era in which thousands of people who thought their jobs were secure are suddenly finding themselves unemployed and not knowing what to do, I am realizing I have actually been training my whole life for this,” reflects our co-founder Katie Donnelly in a piece for The Interconnected. She offers a set of steps for “anyone struggling with being unemployed, underemployed, or scared for their own work future right now.”
She also provides this crucial reminder: “You don’t need to be ashamed for being born without a giant trust fund that can inoculate you from the whims of an unforgiving labor market, or for being unable to predict the intricacies of said labor market decades into the future. Our culture loves to blame individuals, but you have not done anything wrong.”
How can we imagine the future of democracy when it seems to be coming apart?
“In such a moment, exhortations to imagine hopeful futures—or even to think beyond the urgent obstacles we’re facing—can sound naive. And yet the work we’ve been doing at Dot Connector Studio over the past five years tells us that taking a longer view is crucial for both sanity and strategy,” writes our founder Jessica Clark.
She shares three top lessons:
Futures thinking is a journey, not a destination
Tools are out there—you just have to learn how to use them
Collective imagination can serve as an antidote to dread
Last but not least, “Remember: Democracy itself was once an unlikely future, dreamed up by people eager to replace the control of tyrants and religious leaders with self-determination. If we want to retain it—or find an even better way—we’ll need to keep dreaming together about alternatives.”
How are you holding up, and what futures could we work with you to make happen? Drop us a line.
