In today’s chaotic world, we can still find ways to thrive personally and help our organizations maintain momentum. Thank You For Being Late equips us with tools to overcome adversity and grow in challenging times. Thomas Friedman offers solutions that help discover innovative resources even in resource-constrained environments. He skillfully explains the exponential growth spurred by the internet, artificial intelligence, and great innovative thinkers, while emphasizing the importance of diversity and inclusion.
Reflecting on current politics and society, it’s clear how our leaders are falling short and how communities often follow blindly. Chapter 12, “Always Looking for Minnesota,” resonates strongly when considering today’s political issues. Minnesota’s approach to social capital and politicians prioritizing love for their country over opposition allowed the community to flourish in the 1970s and 80s. Now, with job losses and government policies straining the working class, innovative solutions are needed to support our communities. By applying Friedman’s examples to today’s challenges, change is possible. This book provides a blueprint—we just need to consider how to implement it in our ecological development.
Key Takeaways:
- Emphasizing diversity, inclusion, and what’s right for the country can help us get back on track and accelerate innovation.
- Taking time to pause and reflect connects ideas, leading to innovative solutions.
- Lifelong learners are poised for success, as they continue to explore the innovative solutions needed for today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.
- Collaborative platforms like GitHub can harness community ideas and rapidly accelerate organizational and community improvement.
- Rapid innovation can be achieved by integrating with existing systems, such as using Google Maps API instead of developing a new mapping system for an app.
- Lack of diversity stifles innovation; diverse teams generate more innovative ideas.
- Diversity and inclusion must be balanced to ensure that the majority is not excluded while including the minority.
- Those who effectively utilize AI will become advanced innovators; while AI lacks heart and soul, humans who master it will be in high demand.
- Cultural change requires leaders who prioritize what’s best for the country, rather than just supporting their constituents.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Each chapter prompted reflection on the challenges I face at work, in family life, and in today’s society. The systems and tools described in this book can be applied to all aspects of life. Deep reflection helps identify where to focus your efforts. This book aligns with my philosophy of exposing yourself to literature that challenges your biases, values, and beliefs. Shutting down because of bias robs us of learning opportunities and innovative solutions. While Friedman’s biases are evident, and as a conservative, I quickly recognize them, I didn’t let them distract me from the brilliant ideas and solutions in this book. I grew from this book, and I believe you will too.
