Context Matters

Photo: Foto K via Unsplash

I love being outside. I’m happy just being in nature, but there’s also so many great activities one can do such as hiking, bicycling, skiing, and floating down a river.

As fun as these things might sound, they can be miserable under certain conditions. Hypothermia, heatstroke, mosquitoes, and venomous snakes can really ruin your day. Enjoyment varies depending on the context.

The environment imposes itself on the activity, which can be good or bad. This extends to most things in life. Whatever you’re doing is affected by the environment it lives in. The environment can promote growth or decay. Things that thrive in one place, context, or time might be a disaster in another.

Your viral LinkedIn KPI hot take could flop on TikTok. A successful large company leader could struggle in a small startup. The new intern who arrives eager and bright-eyed will be shaped by the work culture, for better or worse. Your proposed policy, innovation, or technology might grow to unexpected heights or be poisoned depending on the setting.

I’m all for exploring ideas across industries and domains, as well as identifying useful best practices from others. However, when the context changes, the results may vary. What works in Berlin or Bangkok might not in Paris or Portland.

We’re seeing this with AI. Give the exact same Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini to various organizations and the results can be significantly different. Some will embrace it and automate everything possible. Some will be terrified their jobs are at risk. Others will use it like old school Google. Still others won’t touch the new-fangled witchcraft. I’m not suggesting a right or wrong, but there’s a right environmental fit.

So, you can feed the environment what it wants or change the environment. The former is usually easier, but not always the right thing to do.

When I study the future I consider how the topic under investigation relates to the environment. I’ve written about this before using the PESTEL framework.

Let the situation dictate your approach, but be sure to consider the environment in whatever you do. Is it open to your ideas? Is it slow when you want fast? Overly risk averse or super aggressive? Can you influence it? Is the timing right? Is it so toxic you should walk away? Is this market different from that one and therefore requires another way?

As I write this it’s just before a three-day weekend with rain forecasted every day. I can’t change that, but I can choose to stay inside or break out the rain gear. I can make it work, but it’s going to require some give and take with the environment.