The world is commemorating the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki this month, 70 years after the US nuclear bombings in Japan.
With the US desperate to finish off the war and claim a dominant position in the post-war world, President Harry Truman dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki instantly killing more than 120 000 people and leaving countless with scars. This resulted in Japan’s unconditional surrender.
Seventy years on, this manmade disaster still affects decisions globally on relational, health, financial and other levels.
Did the US in 1945 consider that the effects of the bombings would still be real to some today?
What was the real cost of these bombings?
How different would the world look today had the US reverted to different measures? A war was won. But what was lost?
How often do you consider the consequences of your actions today for tomorrow in business and life? How often do you consider the strategically bigger picture in your businesses and life before deciding on a plan and embarking with actions?
What would happen within your business today if you were to put on the ‘ten years from now’ cap when making decisions?
What would your career look like if you strategically were writing your CV five years from today?
What would the world look like tomorrow if everybody committed to spend a few minutes considering lasting impacts today?
There are no absolute answers to all these questions, but that does not stop you from looking at new ways of doing things.
The world is changing and you need to be changing alongside it to be relevant and influential to your future and that of others.
Be the one contemplating your actions today and what they will mean tomorrow or a hundred years from now. You owe it to yourself, your family, your country and your world.
Be the change you wish to see in the world.
Author: Stanford Payne CA(SA) is an ICF-accredited executive and business coach