Ritt auf lahmenden Gäulen – Sicherheit, Komfortzone und der erste Schritt in neues Terrain

When my partner at the time, with whom I had only been dating for a few days, asked me if I wanted to come along on a four-week wilderness expedition in Lapland a short time later - we would mainly feed on nature - I didn't hesitate for a second. But not primarily because he had asked me, but because his offer answered a call I had been hearing inside me for some time. I felt no fear, not even necessarily courage. What I felt immediately was excitement and respect for the undertaking, coupled with determination and anticipation. 

This can become a real barrier that slows down the organisation or individuals. It is effectively a stagnant consciousness or mindset that lacks the update and keeps reeling off an old programme. What might have been protective and certainly useful two or ten years ago is no longer necessarily so today, because it is no longer at all suitable for the strategies, actions and reactions that are now necessary. On the contrary, it causes people to get stuck in a "false" safety zone that prevents growth and development. It is crucial for entrepreneurs, individuals as well as mountaineers, for example, to learn to distinguish between these safety zones.

The consequence is that the company, the team or the individuals keep themselves in the comfort zone they have created for themselves. And often, at this point in time, this no longer fits the mission with which an entrepreneur started back then, with which an organisation was founded or with the conviction with which someone began their career path or launched a campaign. 

What used to be uncharted territory has become a comfort zone.

What is often forgotten is to venture out again and again into the new zone of the new unknown and the potential for development. But this is actually a duty for organisations. Because otherwise the consequence will be inertia, immobility and ultimately irresponsibility. And that is actually the greater risk than learning and remaining attentive and agile in order to leave the comfort zone again and again.  

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

For me, new challenges arose every year in the alpine area, a mountain that fascinated me or the crossing of an interesting region, because I had developed a sense of what was next for me. That's not to say that there hadn't been some mishaps, stupid things and experiences of failure associated with it. But the call to push further boundaries was very clear, the call for the next "first step" was always very palpable.

I am convinced that organisations can and must train themselves to create a clear awareness of their old and their current safety zone. And to develop a distinction between the two in order to push themselves out of their current comfort zone so that they evolve. And I believe that when this clear impulse is felt, quick action is extremely helpful. There is a distinct advantage to taking the first step very quickly, no matter how tiny, as long as it is resolutely in the targeted direction.

So it's best to do it now. If you want to run, then run with the old shoes. If there is a clear idea, raise your voice even with an unfinished concept. Take the first step. Good preparation, precise equipment, the will and the reflection of possible consequences on the way out of the comfort zone are of course an indispensable basis. As an organisation, it is much more important to feel one's own impulse and to recognise the moment when perhaps an opportunity-rich hint of an emerging future development emerges to enter one's own new territory.