By Morf Morford, Tacoma Daily Index

The earth may be round, but we have made it flat. And, even with an obsession about national borders, in many ways, we live in a world without borders.

Here’s what I mean; almost twenty years ago, Thomas L. Friedman wrote the book The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century.

His assumption was that, thanks to the internet, the world has become a more level playing field for commerce in which most competitors of all sizes, from almost anywhere in the world (except for labor at the time), from parental basements to corporate high-rises, have equal opportunity and access to markets and lucrative audiences.

Traditional historical and geographic divisions are, according to Friedman, barely relevant.

The world might be “flat” but not evenly – urban writer Richard Florida had a 2005 Atlantic article with the title “The World Is Spiky” – with a focus on the highly selective nature of development in very specific, and often exclusive, urban cores.

No border, no economy?

Borders may stop (or at least attempt to stop) humans, but they often have little to do with ideas, media or even the vast majority of goods.

Globalization has changed and challenged long-held core economic concepts.

We, especially those under about age 45, take it as a given that words, files, films, music, and pictures, from anywhere, could be accessed and manipulated, borderline immediately, on screens or devices by virtually anyone around the world.

The work from home (WFH) movement may have changed how (and where and when) many of us work, but even WFH is just one strand in the internet re-defined global economy.

Uploading, outsourcing and the near constant presence of the internet has changed (and will continue to change) the pace, texture, possibilities and challenges of the duration of the 21st Century.

Among other things, wars, persecutions and famines drive refugees across borders.

Protectionism emerges in unlikely and unexpected places; and it costs us all. We, in the Puget Sound area know this better than most – trade barriers such as tariffs raise prices and reduce available quantities of goods and services for U.S. businesses and consumers, which results in lower income, reduced employment, and lower economic output. In short, the fewer border restrictions we have, the better off we all are.

No center

Change is everywhere: US (and international) interest rates are rising with a multitude of economic impacts from home sales to industrial investments.

Geopolitical hot-spots, cyber-crime and terrorism erupt with unnerving frequency.

Thanks to Tik-Tok and a variety of social media, crime-related flash-mobs (or with stolen cars as their point of entry, “crash-robs”) take place in what had been exclusive and (relatively) secure neighborhoods.

In short, we all, almost everywhere, and in virtually every activity, are in a state of near constant vigilance. We make our way through familiar routines, like shopping, driving or working with an emphasis on safety and situational awareness.

Change is the one thing we can count on

Energy is the pulsing force of life. Entropy is the inevitable decline of literally everything from glaciers to planets to vegetables in the back of the refrigerator.

All living things, from humans to bacteria, are resilient and vulnerable – and inherently focused on equilibrium.

Several years ago I had a friend who was a pilot. He told me that at any given reading, a plane is technically off-course. But staying on-course for every point has very little relevance to the larger course, and of course, the destination.

The same principle holds true in any given business plan or career trajectory – what might seem like a detour or disruption could easily be the defining moment of a life or sense of identity.

You could call this navigation

For better or worse, continual navigation and recalibration have become essential skills for meaningful progress, or even survival, in these most unpredictable times.

Or improvisation

Navigating uses objectivity and clarity to observe and react to what is currently in motion, and in most cases, not yet clear. It involves near-constant course-correction in real-time when the unexpected occurs, which, given today’s economy and social texture, will be one of the very few reliable constants.

These events may be an obstacle or an opportunity. Or perhaps the opposite one in a clever disguise.

In other words, improvising and navigating in today’s world requires world-class agility that stretches the intellectual and strategic abilities of even the best leaders.

As a leader, or anyone who intends to thrive in this ever-moving landscape, you must engage all your senses, including your intuition. And, to some degree at least, prepare for the next unexpected thing.