"Remember - in an exponential world, the static become extinct." - Futurist Jim Carroll
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Futurist Jim Carroll is writing his end-of-2025 / introduction-to-2026 series, 26 Principles for 2026. You can follow along at 2026.jimcarroll.com. He welcomes your comments.
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Day 7? Let's focus on Relentless Reinvention, and why "staying the course" is the most dangerous strategy of all
Days 1 to 6? We've reset your clock, cleared your path, built your courage, turned on your radar, accelerated your learning, and embraced rapid mistakes.
Now, we arrive at the hardest emotional discipline of them all: knowing when to change - and doing the change.
In our old, slow-moving linear world, "staying the course" was a supreme virtue. Once you set a career path or a long-term leadership strategy, you stick to it. Changing direction mid-stream was seen as a sign of weakness, indecision, or flakiness.
But in an exponential world, "staying the course" when the terrain is fundamentally shifting beneath your feet isn't grit; it's suicide.
When technology, industries, or market dynamics shift exponentially, your current role, skill set, or leadership approach can become obsolete overnight. The most successful leaders in 2026 won't be the ones who cling the hardest to their past identities; they will be the ones with the agility to abandon a doomed path instantly and reallocate their personal energy to a new one.
In that context, the discipline you must master is Relentless Reinvention.
Reinvention? It's often known as 'the pivot.'
What Reinvention Looks Like in Real Life
It is easy to discuss the concept of the "pivot" in the abstractāas a strategic necessity on a whiteboard. It is much harder to recognize what it looks like in the trenches of real life.
In my book Now What? Reinvention and the Role of Optimism in Finding Your New Future, I documented the journeys of individuals who faced this exact precipice, with several of the stories looking at their pivot during the pandemic of 2020. They didn't just "change jobs"; they fundamentally reinvented their skills, their time, and their identities to align with a new reality. You can get the book here.
Here is what Relentless Reinvention looks like in practice:
(keep reading)
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**#2026** **#Change** **#Navigate** **#Future** **#Inspiration** **#Principles** **#Speed** **#Growth** **#Guidance** **#Exponential**
Futurist Jim Carroll has reinvented his future multiple times throughout his career, considering it to be just like a regular software upgrade.
Original post: https://jimcarroll.com/2025/11/decoding-tomorrow-mastering-2026-7-remember-in-an-exponential-world-the-static-become-extinct/