Human beings have a very typical habit….they will focus on things within their ‘Goldilocks Zone’. The term was first used to describe the part of space surrounding the Sun, where water remains a liquid and can sustain life. Taking a clue, I describe Goldilocks Zone for people as the space around them where they can do their work comfortably.
While most find comfort in their individual Goldilocks Zone, some of the bold ones go beyond. Columbus sought a sea route to India and discovered America. NASA landed a man in flesh and blood on the moon. Hubble and James Webb satellites help astronomers look at remote part of the universe. Likewise, Zacharias Janssen invented the microscope to help us explore the micro-universe we live in. Dr Alexander Fleming invented penicillin to fights disease causing bacteria, and Edward Jenner went even further and invented a vaccine against viruses.
Two major events in the recent past have shaken mankind out of its comfortable Goldilocks Zone. First was the covid pandemic, which forced us to examine how much we travel, who do we let into our homes, whom we shake hands with and such. Now, we all have heightened conscious about the smaller things that affect our lives in big ways. The second event is the war in Ukraine, which has disrupted supply chains, raised prices of food and fuel, and even put many countries in trouble. Things happening far far away can no longer be ignored. Covid and war, both are pushing mankind outside its Goldilocks Zone.
What applies to people, applies to business as well. More and more companies are moving out of their Goldilocks Zones. Of particular interest are start-ups and fintechs, for many of whom, the Goldilocks Zone is just too boring.
Exploring beyond the Goldilocks Zone can yield rich harvests. Whether it is developing new products or getting new customer insights or creating new customer experiences, there are plenty of opportunities in the Beyond Goldilocks Zone (BGZ). To really exploit these opportunities, we need to remodel our educational system for children and training system for adults to get them to venture out into BGZ, where there are exponential opportunities to learn, earn and return.
