Human beings are inclined to compare the present with the past. We’d accomplish much more if we compared it with the future.

We’re human beings. We like progress. But we don’t like change. It scares us to contend with the unfamiliar. It takes us out of comfort zones, reliable habits, and the ways in which we’ve always done things. It leaves us feeling unprepared and ill equipped, psychologically and operationally. But it doesn’t have to be that way. 

What if we invested as much in imagination as we do in hesitation? What if, instead of fearing the introduction or imposition of change — of new ways of doing things — we envisioned and developed them? What if we took the initiative in devising and designing change, rather than reacting to it? What if we created the future, rather than waiting for it? Why wouldn’t we?

The Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard said, “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” He was right, of course. And to apply it, particularly in the insurance industry, all we need do is look back to see what’s been done — and look forward to imagine what can be done. Especially if we do that in collaboration with others of like minds and like needs, there’s no telling what we can accomplish.

Some would discourage this notion, particularly as it pertains to the formalization and aggregation of the imaginative power of innovation labs. The naysayers are entitled to their points of view, and some of their points might be valid. But if we’re careful to sidestep the pitfalls, we can work together to foster progress, promote new ideas, and accomplish much. It’s all about perspectives, and the faith in possibility.

If we create opportunities for the possible, we’re sure to actualize it. If we create those opportunities for the possible collaboratively, we can only increase our likelihood to realize it. And if we share in the realization, we also share in the rewards.

For the global insurance industry, an investment in imagination can lead us to look ahead and move ahead. Can you imagine what the insurance industry could accomplish — after investing so much effort in isolation over the past decades — if we open up and start to drive change collaboratively? Rather than reacting in the present, we can imagine for the future. A future that will enable us to be ready psychologically, as well as operationally.

We can tackle the challenges we face today and the ones we’ll encounter tomorrow much more effectively and productively if we tackle them together.