Author
Philip Sorrells
Is it redundant to say, “Wow – I cannot believe 2014 is already over?” Every year around this time, pundits start to lament the end of the year and “how fast time goes by.” And sure, most people can relate to that, but honestly – time goes by at the same pace for children, adults and even the proverbial watched pot.
The perception of “fast time” is driven by the pace and stimulation of our activities and the amount of mental agility required to manage those activities. Right now, I am kind of enamored with the term “mental agility” and the ramifications it has on us as individuals and the wireless industry as a whole.
If you look up mental agility, you find a lot of resources and references but most frequently terms like inventiveness, imagination, insight and vision are used to describe a person with high mental agility. To me, mental agility is best indicated by the ability to quickly shift concentration and focus between different priorities and even different types of problems. And to make those shifts without becoming distracted and disoriented as in…”Look! Squirrel!”
Isn’t that term also a great description of today’s information driven world? As users, we need to be able to deal with multiple types of technology in multiple ways at an almost infinite combination of times. We are dealing with an amazing level of technology and systems advancements, from LTE Advanced to Network Virtualization and the ever evolving Internet of Things. Just keeping up with it all is mind boggling.
So, how do we really improve our mental agility? Sure, you can take some tests and do exercises (and I bet somebody somewhere will sell you a pill), but my observation is there is really only one way.
Collaboration! In the 20-plus years I have worked in this industry, I have rarely seen a time or a need for more and better collaboration. Between users and suppliers, between suppliers themselves and even between competitors, collaboration is critical for success. In 2014, I am proud that CommScope really pushed hard to be even more proactive in developing collaborative opportunities—with our webinars, workshops, CommScope Infrastructure Academy and even with these blogs.
Guess what? 2015 is going to be even faster – let’s collaborate. How can we help?
