DR. FREDERIK PFERDT

Frederik Pferdt thank you so much for joining me this week on the podcast. Frederik you were Google’s first chief innovation evangelist. You established Google’s Innovation Lab. I have just completed your new book, what’s Next is Now how to Live Future Ready. And I want to talk all about how to live future ready. I want to talk all about innovation, I want to talk about the D school. But I like to start conversations by going back in time and asking you this. Tell me about your first job. What was that?

>> Dr. Frederik Pferdt: Yes, thanks so much for having me on the show Craig. you know I haven’t expected that question. I usually love to talk about the future and what’s next obviously, and rather go back but appreciate the question. Yes. Which I love because that just takes me down memory lane and I think one of my first jobs I have memories about, good and bad actually both, was at a factory where they produce paper. And so I was at the factory lane and tried to put wood into like big machines with an axe. And those big machines were basically just grinding the wood down to like a mash, added water and then you know, the production process of paper was started basically and I was part of that starting process. it was a rough job, I have to say. It was 12 hours. It was like a shift. I did you know, and those shifters like turned into like night shifts. So 12 hours at night or 12 hours on a Sunday or 12 hours, you know, whatever it is. And I did it basically seven days a week for more than more than two and a half months. That was like a job I did When I was still at school, because I wanted to earn some money to go to America, that was my big plan. so, you know, it was a good pay job, but it was hard, man. Like, it was difficult. Not, just the physical, physically, kind of like just being, you know, with that work. And, like, it was dangerous too, right? Like, you know, sometimes my ax was going into that machine, and so we needed to stop the whole process. And, like, you know, water was splashing out, like hot water splashing out and all of those things. But it was also mentally interesting, right? Because, like, doing a repetitive work for 12 hours, is something that I was not used to. Right. It was something that, you know, was just, very interesting. And, what I also remember is just connecting with the folks who did that job for, a very long time. So I met someone who was basically celebrating, their. I, think it was the 40th year doing that job. So imagine, like, you know, you spend more than half of your life at that factory, right, Producing paper. And so it was very interesting conversations about life and about purpose and meaning and work and all of those things. And for me, it was fascinating, to. To have that as m. One of my first, job experiences, as well.

>> Craig Gould: Well, I mean, I think I like to start there because, you know, a lot of times our past kind of informs our future. I had a recent guest that was talking about these mindsets. You were just talking about the difference between a job mindset versus a career mindset versus a calling. And, you know, some people are happy to mindlessly punch their time card and find fulfillment someplace else. But if we’re lucky enough, we live out there on the edge, where we’re putting our strengths to work every day. And your strength is innovation, or at least that’s where. That’s where it appears your passion is, correct?

>> Dr. Frederik Pferdt: Yes. Probably not at that time. Right. But that was basically just, experimenting. Right? Trying, like, different jobs. So I had many other jobs, like, down the. Down the road. And for me, it was interesting because I didn’t have a calling probably. Right. I didn’t see, like, any. Any purpose or bigger meaning in that thing that I was doing. Right. but you’re right, right? That probably comes with experience. With experience with things you’ve learned. Right. During these first times. But for me, it was important to try as many jobs as possible. Right? Because, later on, everybody tells you, like, they have the best job, right? Like, if you talk to an investment banker. I have had a lot of Friends, like, during my college years, who were, like, in the legal field or, like investment banking or, they, had very interesting careers. And everybody tells you, like, they have the best jobs, right? And so what I try to do is do as many jobs as possible, maybe for a short time, to get a firsthand experience and how it feels like. Right. Is that something that not just gives me meaning, but it also is something that I want to make better, maybe. Right. So that first job I did in that factory, right. I would go back today and try to change some things. Right. so that people don’t have to do that cruel work anymore. Right. And I think, you know, that’s something where innovation now can play a big role. But at that time, you know, I just didn’t have the. Maybe the perspective on it yet. All right. which developed over time.

How often do you think about the future nowadays

>> Craig Gould: But at some point you come to the States and you stay in the States. When did you first become enamored with the future and get excited about possibilities?

>> Dr. Frederik Pferdt: Yes, that’s a great question. maybe since my childhood. Right. I thought about the future a lot. And so let me ask you that question, Craig. Like, how often do you think about the future nowadays?

>> Craig Gould: That comes in, several different flavors, Right. Because we’re in a political season where there’s a lot of anxiety about what is the future after next week, what’s the future four years from now? But that’s macro. But on a micro level, I think a lot about. I have teenagers. I’m thinking about what. What is. What is their future going to be like over the next, four years? You know, what is my future going to be like heading towards the end of my professional career. You know, what’s my goal for migrating to an easier life at some point? So, I mean, I feel like. I feel like. I’ve always thought. I remember in college reading a book about futurism by Peter Schwartz and just being really captivated by the concept of trying to do scenario planning, trying to put a finger on the future. But I think what’s interesting in reading your book is that sometimes the future can feel too far off and that maybe we don’t take action because it. It feels like it can be so far out there that it can be somebody else’s problem or, a problem for a different day versus if we bring the future closer to us, then we can address it in a more immediate fashion.

>> Dr. Frederik Pferdt: Yeah, you’re right. and it’s not just about the distance. It’s also about who is in charge and in control.

How often do you think about the future? Three questions answered

So I like that you answered three questions, right, in that two and a half minutes. First one, how often do you think about the future? Right? So everybody can ask that question themselves, like, how often do we actually think about the future? And it’s quite a lot, I have to say, right? Everybody thinks about it, you know, throughout the day, right? And, then the second question is, what do you think about when you think about it? Right? And you shared, like, it’s, politics, it’s, you know, your career, it’s your children, right? It’s all of those things that basically appear when we think about the future. And then the third question, I think the most important one is, how do you feel when you think about the future? And that varies, right? Sometimes we think, you know, it’s going to be an amazing future, right? We’re super excited. We can’t wait to live in the future. And sometimes there’s anxiety, there’s literally fear that actually shows up when we think about the future right? Now, what if I told you we can change how we feel about the future just by changing how we think about it? What if the future isn’t something to fear or wait for, but something we actively create, right? We all look for that certainty to know what happens next, right? You mentioned a couple of things. You want to know what’s your next step in your career? You want to know, what’s going to be happening, in politics, right? You want to know what’s going to happen with your children, right? But let me tell you, no one can actually predict that, right? No one can tell you you are the only one who can create what’s next. And it starts in your mind. It starts with your thinking. So when you face a major life change, right? Maybe losing a job or moving to a new city or going through a breakup, right? We all have been there, right? The instinct to seek certainty is there. You ask, will I be okay? What if things don’t work out? But no one, like none of your friends, not your family, not even the experts who call themselves the futurists, right, can give you the guaranteed answer. And that’s, such an important insight. I think that really struck me way back in my time around that question, that it’s not about what will happen next. It’s the question, what can I create next? And I think that shift is really important because that one change move us from being passive observers about the future and just wait to active creators. And in practice, that’s about experimenting, right? Taking small steps, even when we don’t know the full picture. Right. And we love to plan. Right. We love to plan everything out. Right. We love to plan till the end of our life. Right. But each action builds that momentum, and from that momentum, clarity emerges. And the beauty is that you don’t need certainty to start. Right. What you need is curiosity and the courage to take the first step.

>> Craig Gould: There are points in my life where maybe I had interest in a half dozen things, and trying to choose which direction I wanted to go was, a little overwhelming. And trying to commit to one path, you know, if, you know, if you’re at a crossroads and there are four paths to take, you can see a future in going down any one of those paths. But if you overthink it too much, you’re just going to find yourself stuck at this crossroads and not go anywhere.

>> Dr. Frederik Pferdt: Absolutely. Yeah.

>> Craig Gould: How do you find the courage to choose a path?

>> Dr. Frederik Pferdt: Yeah. And that’s really something practical that we all can try out, Right. Ask yourself, what’s one small thing I can do today to shape what happens next? And it could be as simple as changing your morning routine, right. That gives you a fresh perspective on a lot of things, right? Trying something new. Right. Or reaching out to someone who inspires you or you want to connect with. Right. These are small things that we all have control over that really determine our future. Right. And the goal isn’t perfection. Right. It’s not making the best route to, work happen. Right. Or, you know, start a new hobby or start something new and being perfect at it. Right. It’s about progress. Because with each small step, you create that momentum that I shared, about toward the future you want to build. And the future isn’t fixed, Right. It’s not a fixed thing that we want to go towards. It’s something you create choice by choice and moment by moment.

You talk about unreserved openness and reserved openness in your book

And I think that’s a very important reminder that we, should also ask ourselves, how do we want to show up in these moments? Right. Is it something that allows, me to maybe have, or make a new friend, Right. start a new conversation or meet someone new. Right. If you show up pointing out at someone what you don’t like about them. Right. Or what annoys you, right. That’s usually a default mode. When we, for example, we sit on the train or sit in the bus or we are on the plane, right. And we’re surrounded by people, Right. Our mind usually looks for the things that is bothering us, right? Someone is loud on the phone or making a noise. Right. Someone leaves behind their trash or whatever it is. And then we want to point this out, right? But that doesn’t create a new friend, right? It makes them annoyed. And you feel also like, oh, maybe you feel like, oh, I. I taught something someone, right? But I think the opposite should happen. Look for the things that you appreciate, right? Look for the behaviors in others where you say, like, hey, I want to point out that this person just, freed up their seat to someone else, right? I want to point out that they remove the trash. I want to point out, you know, that they speak silently or whatever it is, right? Like, look for those things and then notice them. And also talk to the people who are showing these behaviors because that’s creating a new connection that’s going to make you happy, that’s going to make the other person happy, too. And so I think, we are guided by our negativity bias most of the time, right? Our mind looks for those things, to protect us. Right? But look for the other things. Look for the positive things. Look for the things that you appreciate, and then, see what happens. Right? And I think that will also determine your future, because then you walk around the world seeing possibilities. You see something positive in most of these situations, and I think that’s something beautiful. We can all train ourselves in.

>> Craig Gould: In the book, you refer to this unreserved openness. It’s like walking through life accepting the fact that you don’t have all the answers. I think it really points to having a mindset of a little bit more humility. I’m trying to remember. I think there was a story, I think you shared a story in the book about going to refugee camp with your own ideas of what these people needed, but once you got there, realized that their needs were totally different.

>> Dr. Frederik Pferdt: Absolutely, yes. and so I just want to point out that, you know, openness, as I talk about it, I talk about it as unreserved openness, regular openness, says, I’ll try new things when I feel ready. Right? That’s the usual openness. Right. And everybody, I think, can agree to that. Right. I’ll be open whenever I’m ready for it. Right. But reserved openness is something different because it goes beyond regular openness. It’s about not knowing is the most exciting place to be. Right. And so for me, it’s about this notion of first doors, right? So this practice to take a new route, try an unfamiliar food, or start a conversation with someone new. These are all first doors that you can open. Right. And how often are we standing in front of that door, and we feel like, up, you know, I’ll try this, or I’ll open this when I’m ready, right? But not now. For me, it’s unreserved openness. You always open that door because there’s always going to be an insight behind that door. So openness isn’t about being fearless, right? It’s about being curious enough to move forward anyway. And in that time when there was a refugee crisis in Europe happening, right, I immediately volunteered. And with my friends, we went to refugee camps in Berlin that were set up. And, you know, coming to these refugee camps, right, you come with a lot of ideas, right? And how you can make life easier for those refugees, right? And so I came with a set of ideas. I think I had, like, 10, 15 ideas, I think totally will work out, right? Having the confidence of, like, oh, I know how to, you know, make their lives easier, and I know how to solve the refugee crisis, right? That was my attitude coming in, but it’s the wrong attitude because I showed up and literally none of these ideas worked. You know, I came up with ideas of like, oh, they obviously need clothing, right? They need kind of like toys to play with, because, like, there’s a lot of just waiting around for those refugees not knowing where to go next. So I felt like, oh, ah, toys and games and all of those things will. Will totally be something that, they will appreciate again. There was enough clothing around, and nobody wanted to play a game, right? They were just in a different state of mind. And so I chose my approach and shifted my approach from knowing how to, you know, solve this problem towards being open and trying to understand what is actually needed. So I talked to a lot of those refugees, and what I found out were two things. The first thing they needed was a sense of identity, right? Because they left everything behind, right? So you also leave somehow your identity behind, right? And so when I kept talking to, the refugees, what came up was that they needed something to take their belongings to the next camp because they were shifted around from camp to camp and they needed to move on and so forth. And they always had to leave their stuff behind because they didn’t have backpacks or suitcases to carry, literally their identity with them, right? And everybody has an identity in terms of, like, the clothing you, like, kind of like, you know, your belongings and all of those things. So I went immediately and bought, like, hundreds and hundreds of backpacks and suitcases for those people so they can carry their identity forward. So they have you know, their belongings with them. That was the first thing. And the second thing I found out is they just wanted to participate in regular life like everybody else in Berlin. Right. So we got train tickets and bus tickets and museum tickets and all of those things to have them actually go into the city to participate in everyday life. Right. Like everybody else. And so train tickets and suitcases were not on my list initially, but they came up by being open, right. And being unreserved, open towards the needs that people are actually sharing.

The basis of your book is this future ready mindset

>> Craig Gould: the basis of your book is this future ready mindset, being in the state of mind where you’re engaging with the future every day. Right. And so, what are some of the key characteristics of the mindset? And as a leader, how can I start cultivating that today in my organization?

>> Dr. Frederik Pferdt: Yes. so there’s an important distinction I make. So I don’t talk about mindset, I talk about mind state. For me, a mind state is the perspective you have in any given moment that really determines how you experience the present. And the mindset is powerful because it’s in your control. Because in every moment, you can shift your mind state, you can change it. It’s dynamic. Right? And so that is what I feel, I want to offer to people and leaders so that they recognize and realize that they have control over their future as well and the way they think about their future. So that’s the first thing. And then I talk about dimensions of a future ready mind state. I talk about radical optimism, unreserved openness, compulsive curiosity, perpetual, experimentation, expansive empathy. Those are like my five dimensions that I wanna people realize that these are not qualities that are new to people. Right. Everybody is curious to a specific level. Right. Again, everybody’s open to a certain level as well. I wanna help people to push that, to push that towards being unreserved open. I wanna help people to be radically optimistic. Right? And I think that’s something that we all can train ourselves in. to give you an example, when, we, moved to the Santa Cruz mountains here, about five years ago, half a year later, wildfire started to burn about a mile away from our house. And so we had about 10 minutes to evacuate our house. Right? And in that moment, in that situation, you. I have a lot of uncertainty, Right. And an anxiety, to be honest. Right. Where would you go? Right. will you be able to return to that home? Right. it’s literally paralyzing for all of our five family members. But you have to make a choice, right? And so instead of waiting for answers, we decided to reimagine how we want to, you know, spend the next days, right? And so we went on a road trip and we, you know, declared that as a road trip to say, like, we’re going to, you know, go camping, we stay with friends and so forth. but we’re going to take optimism as a choice to look at that situation, right? We’re not taking, you know, blaming someone to be responsible for those fires or, like, not putting out the fires and whatever. We don’t, take that approach. We take optimism as an approach. And so after the evacuation, we, we began returning to our house after 10 days, and the house was still there. Luckily, we began growing our own food, using our solar energy to power our house, collecting our rainwater, not because we had to, but because we could, right? We could now choose to have a different relationship with the future, saying, like, we learned that, you know, climate change is real and it can happen all the time. Now let’s have a different relationship with our, with our nature, in our environment and choose a different lifestyle. And so this experience really showed me that uncertainty is not something to fear. Right? It’s an invitation to rethink, to experiment and to take action. And the future isn’t about waiting for the perfect moment. It’s about starting where you are, with what you have. And I think that’s something every, every person, every human being, every leader can basically, take as a reminder for themselves that you always have a choice in every moment.

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Craig Suzuki: Lead with curiosity and explore your curiosity

Now, back to our conversation. I think one of the things I felt reading your book was that innovation isn’t something that you put in a box on a shelf and take it out and say, now we’re going to innovate that innovation is something that is part of an ongoing, it’s iterative versus let’s sit down and have an innovative thought.

>> Dr. Frederik Pferdt: Absolutely. I hear a lot of people that come to me that come with that question, Craig, that you just shared, like, hey, how can we be more innovative, right? In our organization, in our team, in, you know, in our work, in our life, whatever it is. And they’re looking for that, you know, one answer, which is like a process or an innovation space, an environment, right? Or they’re looking for a technology or whatever it is, or they’re looking for resources. They say like, oh, you know, I think if we just throw a lot of money at a problem, right. They’re going to be innovative ideas. None of that is true, right? None of that is true. But what you can do is you can, for example, change the way you think, right? And one, powerful way, and it’s a shim, it’s a simple shift in language that really can change everything. That is replacing your butts with ands to keep those possibilities alive, right? And you’re laughing. It’s such a, it’s such a simple thing. Like everybody gets, everybody understands on a cognitive level, but it’s really hard to practice. And so let me give you an example. When you know, we think about innovation and you’re in a team setting or like somebody shares a new idea, right? You can respond as a leader and say, I love this idea, but I don’t know how to make it happen.

>> Craig Gould: Conversation.

>> Dr. Frederik Pferdt: Stops. Right? You can change and say I love this idea and we’ll figure out how to make it happen, right? You feel the difference, right? It’s just a subtle, it’s one word that literally changes, changes here, but it changes everything, right? Because now you’re moving from stopping the conversation to moving, opening it up for possibilities and inviting people literally to now find ideas and solutions on how to make this idea happen. And there are many, many other practices. But I want to give that small, simple shift in your language as an exercise to people to really notice just throughout your day, how many times you can replace your but with an and. And if you try that once, twice, three times, see what it changes for you and what it changes for others. And then if you’re a leader of a team or an organization, just see how differently people show up because of that subtle change in language. And there’s many, many more things we can do. For example, we can ask better questions, right? Curiosity is something that we all are born with. But how often do you lead with your curiosity? Because curiosity isn’t just about finding answers. It’s about staying open to what we don’t yet know. And these questions about, what if, what’s next, what if today is different, or what if tomorrow is different. Right. Those are really helpful to explore your curiosity and lead with curiosity. Because for me, the best leaders are the people with the best questions, not the best answers.

>> Craig Gould: You know, reading your book, it reminded me, of this fact that I learned a while back about how the majority of Nobel laureates in the sciences, how the vast, vast majority of them were rewarded for work in their 20s. That, rarely do Nobel laureates get rewarded for work into their 30s, 40s, or beyond. And it has to do with this openness in thinking that you talk a lot about. Right? Because there becomes a point where, when we know we don’t have all the answers, everything’s open to us in terms of possibilities. But the more we think we know, the more constrained our thinking becomes. And so, you know, my question is, how can we expand, even as we are, into, the later stages of our career, and we think we know everything about our industry or everything about being a leader? Is it humility or what. What is it that allows us to continue to think in terms of possibilities that are out there?

>> Dr. Frederik Pferdt: Yes, you make such a beautiful point here, Craig, which reminds me of, the Zen monk, Jun Rui Suzuki, who helped popularize Zen Buddhism in the United States. And he’s very known for this quote, which is, in the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind, there are few. Right? So he also said that if your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything. It is open to everything. Right. And how often do we, tag ourselves as being an expert in something? Right. But apparently, like, being an expert is not allowing you to see many opportunities or possibilities. Right? It’s the beginner’s mind. And you said something, beautiful where, like, most of these people had their breakthroughs in their 20s. Right. Probably not being an expert already in the field, but being a beginner. Right? Being someone who is curious, who is open, who, allows themselves not follow the approach they’re usually taking, but taking a new approach. And so that is something that we all can practice over and over again. Right. Even when we take the same route to work every day, we can put ourselves into a beginner’s mind and say, like, hey, I’m going to have this experience, as if I You know, take that route the first time. Right. Or when we run our team meetings, how often do we run the team meetings based on an approach that we have tried in the past and find to be useful? Right. With a beginner’s mind. Try to approach every meeting with a fresh perspective. Right. To really see many opportunities and possibilities. And I think that’s something powerful to practice. And again, it’s a way to train your mind that we all can do a better job at.

You’ve talked to some of the world’s most creative artists about play

>> Craig Gould: One of my passions is fine, arts. And over the last four years, I’ve had a podcast where I talk to the, world’s leading, art critics, artists, curators, museum directors. And whenever I’m talking to these artists, and I’ve had the benefit of talking to some of the world’s most creative artists, and I talk to them about that creative process. The very best artists, the ones I respect the most, we have a conversation about their creative process and the thing that they really have in common, whether that’s Wolfgang Tillman’s or William Kentridge or whoever, they’ll talk about the importance of play in their process. And that’s, you know, a lot of artists are, you know, very serious. They, think they know what they’re working on. They, you know, whether it’s execution or this or that, they talk about how they set aside time with no expectations for what the outcome is going to be to just play. And I wonder if in the Innovation Lab or your work, you’ve seen evidence that that sort of thing is important in the business world in terms of fostering innovation.

>> Dr. Frederik Pferdt: Absolutely. It’s such a powerful concept. And, you’re right. A playful approach is just a way also how children learn, right? They learn through play. And whenever I have a chance to play with my kids again, right. It’s wonderful to see that you have a set of rules that you usually play with, right? But sometimes you can just throw these rules out of the window as well and just, continue to play and experiment and see that whatever emerges is fine. And I learned that as well when we started to garden here, our own food and grow our own food, right. When I started gardening, right, I wanted everything to be perfect, right? But nothing literally went according to plan. Eventually, I just stopped waiting for perfect conditions and just started planting seeds right, randomly and also inviting everybody, like my kids and friends and so forth. And we had that playful approach to just experiment, you know, and some plants grew, others didn’t. But with each season, I learned and we all learned. Now our garden feeds our Family. Not because it. I got it right the first time, but because I kept experimenting. And I think experimenting is very close to that notion of play. And so just inviting play more in your life and more in how you approach things, I think also can make things a little bit less serious, right? And I think we all need that, right? We all need a little bit more, fun in our lives and things that we don’t take too seriously, especially ourselves, we shouldn’t take too seriously. And I love that you shared that you’ve learned that from all of these artists that play is such an important part of being an artist, right? And being creative. For me, that notion of a creative process is also important that we mostly look at the outcome, right? We look at these creative pieces, of art, right? It’s, it’s the music that’s produced, or it’s the picture, right. That we look at or whatever creative piece, that we look at as a creative outcome. For me, it’s also important to not just consider that, but consider the creative process that starts earlier with what I consider collecting the dots before you connect the dots, right? Everybody thinks about creativity in ways that Steve Jobs famously said, like, you know, it’s all about collect, connecting the dots, right? I think it’s also about collecting those dots, right? And trying to really observe your environment and look for new insights, look for new, fresh things that, get you a sense of, awe. Even like, you know, in a moment where you say, like, oh, that’s beautiful, right? I haven’t seen that before and so forth. Like, the sunrise today was just magnificent and like, just taking a couple of seconds to recognize that, right? The colors and all of those things helped me to just start the day differently as well by recognizing those things and then, you know, connecting more or collecting more of those dots. Where you see, like, you look at the sunrise, you look at how nature grows, you look at, you know, how your children, go to school, whatever it is, right? And you collect all of those things with that open mind. Then later in the day you have more of a chance that you can connect different dots, right? You can connect that back to, oh, I love the colors of the sunrise. Maybe that’s something I want to include in my presentation, right? about whatever it is. Or maybe we’re, going to create a creative piece, tonight, a piece of drawing that really draws from that, from those colors, right? And so I feel like the creative process is also something about collecting these dots more and more so that we have a Higher chance of collecting dots later on.

>> Craig Gould: That’s interesting. And it makes me think about books. It makes me think about encyclopedias. Wikipedia now is, a great resource, but you go to Wikipedia with something in mind, and you go to an entry and you get the information you’re looking for. But in the old days, you would have to open up an, encyclopedia and you’re paging past all of these random dots, right? And you land on things and, you know, accumulate knowledge. It’s important in a digital world to kind of leave opportunities for you to find these dots, right? You know, search for a new podcast, go to Barnes and Noble, and browse periodicals or, books. How do you think, one can intentionally expand their dot curation?

>> Dr. Frederik Pferdt: I think all of those things are helpful and useful, right? Going to a museum or spending time in a library, browsing different, different books, also engage in conversations and so forth. Or even, like on social media, finding inspiration, right? I think that’s all helpful. But there needs to be a balance, because sometimes we spend too much of consuming that external world instead of creating what’s next for ourselves, right? So instead of listening to all the podcasts out there in the world, how about you start your own one, right? Instead of, like, reading all the beautiful pieces, that are in your library, in your city library, right. How about you start crafting your first, you know, small little book? I feel like there is, for us always a chance to move from consuming to creating. And that shift is very, very important, especially when it comes to the. To the future, right? Because we always, you know, again, like to know more. We like to know what’s going to happen next. But shift that question to how can I create what’s next? And I think that’s something that starts within you, right? So you start to create that momentum when you start creating. And for me, the most important reminder is every morning when I wake up. There is a tendency that your mind likes to consume, right? Consume the news, consume social media, your emails, whatever there is. Right? But I stopped that to move towards creating. And it doesn’t need to be like, I created a masterpiece in the morning, right? It’s something small that I want to make, right? It could be like, a piece of writing, it could be a cup of tea, it could be like a gesture to someone, like, you know, sharing a note with someone saying, okay, thanks for, you know, that great conversation yesterday, whatever it is, right? But it’s that shift from consuming to making that is so important, because then your mind gets into that creation mode, and you literally start creating the future that you want to see happening, instead of waiting for the future that’s out there that you don’t have control over.

>> Craig Gould: If you talk to writers, pretty much every one of them will say, you need to write every day. You need to be in the routine of creation every day. Should it be a deliberate part of our routine to create something every day? I mean, do we need to set aside time in, you know, as a ritual, as a routine to create something?

>> Dr. Frederik Pferdt: Absolutely. And it should not be just part of your day. It should be the first thing in your morning, right? Because that just sets you up for the whole day to get into that creation mode and then think about, like, if you create something beautiful, if you create something that is kind, if you create something that has value, right? That is helpful to others, then you’re in a. In a movement forward throughout your day that continues to create those things that are helpful, that are meaningful, that are kind, that are. Whatever it is, ah.

The notion of the future is not something that happens to us

Instead of, like, you know, consuming something that you don’t have control over, that might be like, something negative, it might be something that is full of hatred, something that is, annoying to you, right? That’s not a good start of your day because that also creates that momentum that you’re going to respond back to most of these things exactly. With those qualities. And so, that brings me back to really, that notion of the future is not something that happens to us. It’s something that we make happen and think about, not, about the future in a way that you say, what do I want to accomplish? Or, you know, what do I want to be in the future? Think about the more important question, which is, how do I want to be in the future? Right? How do I want to be tomorrow, the next five years, the next 10 years? And you’re going to see that you can have an answer around that, right? If you answer that to say, like, hey, I want to be more loving, I want to be more open, I want to be more curious, or all of those things, right? Then you can make the first magic happen right now to say, I’m going to show up today differently, and I try these small experiments that will get me towards being a more loving, more kind, a more open person. And that’s something where you create the future literally moment by moment.

There was one quote in your book about dealing with ambiguity and uncertainty

>> Craig Gould: There was one quote in your book I wrote down here you were saying I had also become aware of how frequently I encountered people who were uncomfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty and avoided things they didn’t immediately Recognize. And it reminded me of a conversation I had at a dinner party, where I was seated next to an engineer and I was talking about fine art. And he was kind of being really dismissive of, fine arts education. And I was explaining this very principle that whenever you get out into the world, you need to be able to deal with things in the gray area. Deal with the ambiguous and the uncertain in that. Answering problems and solving problems. In art, where everything is open ended, the front end is open ended, the result is open ended. You have to solve these problems of ambiguity and certainty. And I’m not sure if I changed his mind, but it was, it was interesting to have that debate with someone who’s like, they saw the world black and white because, you know, there was a lot of gray out there, right?

>> Dr. Frederik Pferdt: Absolutely. Yeah. I, I liked what you said, which is like, I’m not sure if I changed that person’s mind. it’s actually impossible to change anybody’s mind. Right. it’s even hard enough to change our own mind. So, what I usually like to do in those conversations is not convincing the other person from the opposite, because that’s not possible. And it’s something that is really hard to do. And what I like to do is just respond with curiosity. Right? Because that’s something that they’re not tapping into. Right. They’re not being curious. Right. As you said, they’re usually when people don’t know something, right. Or don’t know something about, you know, a specific area or a specific topic, whatever it is. you’re right. It’s usually like they dismiss those things, right. And they don’t see the value in those things and they don’t show up with curiosity. Which is the most powerful way you can show up in the world is with curiosity. That deep curiosity that allows you to ask questions like, hey, tell me more. I’m curious to learn more about fine arts. Or what’s the benefit of, this specific technology or whatever it is. And that curiosity really leads to learning, right. And leads you to grow in ways that is magical. And we see that with children as well, right. They always show their curiosity in a very powerful way by asking so many questions throughout the day. And they literally turn everything upside down, right? When they say, like, hey, why is it that way? Why can’t it be different? And they challenge us to rethink so many things. And as adults, we lose that because we fear that we might show up as someone who doesn’t know. Right. And I think that’s nowadays actually the best way you can show up. And admitting that I don’t know yet anything about it, but I’m curious because that curiosity is such a powerful leadership trait and also human trait that you can use in so many situations. If it’s in a political discussion. Right. That you have with someone who has a different view, if it’s with someone who you don’t know yet, if it’s with an expert from a different area. Right. Curiosity is the only way that allows you to learn and grow in those conversations.

>> Craig Gould: My wife one time had a manager who told her, feel free to ask me any questions, but don’t ask me too many questions or I’ll think you don’t know how to do your job.

>> Dr. Frederik Pferdt: So you said it was a manager, it was not a leader. There’s a difference between that.

Every choice you make today reflects how you want to be in your future

>> Craig Gould: So a lot of these terms, radical optimism, unreserved m. Openness, compulsive curiosity, perpetual experimentation, expansive empathy. I think we can. We can imagine what we’re attaching to those. But Dimension X, can you kind of go into that part of the future, ready. Mind state? And how do you define Dimension X?

>> Dr. Frederik Pferdt: Yes. So that’s the sixth dimension in the book, of a futuristic mind state. And your Dimension X is your unique superpower. Right. The gift that feels so natural, you might not even notice it. And we all have a unique superpower. Right. That we sometimes are unaware of. Right. And so for me, it’s critical that we allow people to unlock that unique superpower by first becoming aware of it and then secondly put that to use. And so in the book, I have an exercise that really allows you to find your unique superpower and to, then put that to use, because it really is something helpful that you sometimes might just overlook. But the power of it is that most of your people around you, they probably have already recognized, like, what’s the unique superpower of Craig? Right. There might be something that you always default back to that might be related to, like, being able to connect the dots or being able to, empathize or show up with curiosity or ask the better question. Like, all of those things could be unique superpowers. And I think that’s something that I want to help people to do, is really allowing them to become aware of your unique superpower and then put that to use.

>> Craig Gould: I’m halfway through my day. What can I do today to unlock a little bit of progress towards a better tomorrow?

>> Dr. Frederik Pferdt: Yes. and, you know, as your days half halfway through, which is great. Congratulations. first thing is we can show a little bit of gratitude, right, that we had another day or half a day that we could make progress, right? And, and decide how we show up. So on average, an adult makes between 33,000 or 35,000 decisions. So you already at, probably like 17,000 or even 20,000 today. Right? These choices around, you know, what to eat or what to wear or what to say and how to say it and so forth. But for me, a futuristic mindset isn’t about what you do, it’s about how you are. It’s about leaving your unique uprint on the world. Right? And every choice you make today reflects how you want to be in your future. Right? And I think just reminding yourself about that is something, something powerful. And just remind yourself that by choosing how you show up today in every moment, you influence the future in your relationships, in your work, in your life. And it’s not about waiting for circumstances to change. So don’t wait like what’s going to happen tomorrow or next week. It’s about becoming the person who initiates the change you want to see. And that’s a good reminder that every moment has a power in it. Right? And just being mindful of those moments and how you make, better choices in these moments that are maybe influenced by openness or optimism. Right. Curiosity or empathy allows, you to really create a better future for yourself.

>> Craig Gould: Tremendous. Well, Frederik I really appreciate you taking time out of your busy day to talk to me about your future, my future, our futures. the book is what’s Next Is now how to Live Future Ready. available wherever people buy their books. Frederik thank you for your time.

>> Dr. Frederik Pferdt: Wonderful. Thank you so much, Craig, for having me.

Craig Gould: Leadership isn’t just about making decisions

>> Craig Gould: This has been Master Move. I’m Craig Gould and I’ve been your host. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an interview with another inspiring leader. And if you’re looking for more exclusive content and behind the scenes insights, check out MasterMove IE for additional resources, premium articles, premium episodes, and more. I’d love to hear your thoughts on today’s conversation, so feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn or drop me a line at craigasterastermove IO until next time. Remember, leadership isn’t just about making decisions. It’s about making moves that matter. Master Move.