Dancing in the Rain
Author: Theresa Beenken CEO, inspired by the work of futurist Jim Carroll
25+ years. That’s how long we’ve been working with futurist Jim Carroll. He’s the one who convinced us to get our first website domain when most people still thought the internet was a fad!
Jim’s superpower isn’t just predicting the future; it’s making complex ideas so compelling that you can’t help but act on them. His latest book, “Dancing in the Rain,” arrived on my desk recently, and by page 50, I was already planning how to share these insights with our clients.
But then I had a thought: If Jim’s writing about dancing in the rain… why not literally dance in the rain?
So I grabbed my phone, stepped into a downpour, and recorded my takeaways right there on the wet pavement. Because sometimes the best way to understand a metaphor is to live it.
Key Takeaways:
• Mindset is your foundation—opt out of downturns in defiance, not denial
• Opportunity is everywhere—growth never disappears, it just changes location
• Speed is your superpower—moving first shapes recovery, it doesn’t create risk
• Organizations prepared to thrive turn economic uncertainty into competitive advantage
BONUS insight from me: “Dancing is your energy—embrace the storm with purpose and joy!”
Looking for futurist speakers who transform uncertainty into opportunity? National Speakers Bureau’s Jim Carroll teaches organizations how to thrive when the storm hits.
Rainy day insights from NSB futurist speaker Jim Carroll ☔️
Global futurist Jim Carroll, available through National Speakers Bureau, has delivered over 2,000 keynotes to 2+ million people worldwide, proving that the most dangerous strategy during stormy times isn’t taking risks—it’s playing it safe. His latest insights in “Dancing in the Rain: How Bold Leaders Grow Stronger in Stormy Times” reveal why the future belongs to those who dance in the storm, not those who hide from it.
Table of Contents
The Three Keys to Growing Stronger in Stormy Times
After delivering over 2,000 keynotes to 2+ million people worldwide, Jim Carroll has identified three fundamental keys that separate leaders who thrive from those who merely survive:
🔑 Key #1: Mindset is Your Foundation – Opt Out in Defiance, Not Denial
The first key isn’t about ignoring reality—it’s about choosing your response to it. As Jim Carroll emphasizes: “The storm isn’t the problem. Standing still is.”
This mindset shift transforms everything. While competitors retreat and wait, defiant leaders ask different questions:
– What capabilities can we build while others cut back?
– Which market positions can we strengthen while competitors withdraw?
– How do we emerge from this period not just intact, but enhanced?
This approach resonates with the leadership principles that National Speakers Bureau speakers consistently emphasize across industries.
🔑 Key #2: Opportunity is Everywhere – Growth Never Disappears
The second key challenges conventional economic thinking. Futurist Jim Carroll recognizes that most organizations don’t fail for lack of opportunity—they fail because they can’t get out of their own way. Economic downturns don’t eliminate opportunity—they redistribute it. Growth doesn’t disappear during storms; it simply changes location, speed, and form.
Jim Carroll identifies over 50 megatrends that continue driving innovation regardless of economic conditions, including:
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and Robotics: These are transforming industries and creating new possibilities for automated systems and data-driven insights.
Electrification: The large-scale rewiring of the global power grid and its implications for various sectors, such as the growing EV market.
Urban Reimagination: The transformation of cities into “smart cities” with integrated digital infrastructure and focus on efficiency, particularly in Asia.
Personalized Medicine: Advanced technologies and knowledge explosion are leading to precision medicine with significant implications for human longevity and health.
Compressed Innovation Cycles: The pace of innovation is accelerating, leading to shorter cycles of technological development and adoption.
“Growth never disappears,” as Jim Carroll teaches—it just moves to where the bold leaders are looking for it.
🔑 Key #3: Speed is Your Superpower – Moving First Shapes Recovery
The third key transforms how leaders think about risk and timing. Conventional wisdom suggests waiting for clarity before acting. Jim Carroll’s approach proves the opposite: in volatile times, hesitation is the real risk, not action.
As Jim Carroll explains, small moves create breakthroughs—and why hesitation is the real risk. Organizations that maintain strategic momentum during downturns achieve remarkable advantages:
– Enhanced capabilities built while competitors reduce capacity
– Stronger customer relationships developed through consistent value delivery
– Better talent retention through continued investment in people
– Innovation leadership through sustained R&D and development
– Market positioning that accelerates growth during recovery
This isn’t about reckless action—it’s about calculated courage. National Speakers Bureau connects organizations with speakers who help develop frameworks for strategic decision-making during uncertain times.
BONUS: Dancing is Your Energy! 💃
Here’s where the metaphor becomes literal. Dancing in the rain isn’t just about attitude—it’s about energy management during difficult times.
When storms hit, most leaders become energy drains: cautious, anxious, and reactive. But bold leaders become energy sources: optimistic, decisive, and proactive. This energy difference transforms not just individual performance, but entire organizational cultures.
Dancing represents the joy and purpose that fuel sustainable performance during extended challenging periods. You can’t just survive storms—you need to find ways to thrive in them, maintain team morale, and even enjoy the process of transformation.
As Jim Carroll puts it: “The future does not belong to the cautious—it belongs to the courageous.” And courage often looks like dancing when others think you should be hiding.
The Research Behind Bold Leadership in Stormy Times
Jim Carroll’s insights aren’t theoretical—they’re battle-tested across multiple economic cycles and supported by compelling research from leading consulting firms.
McKinsey research on organizational resilience during downturns reveals striking differences between companies that maintain strategic momentum versus those that retreat. According to their analysis, “By the time the depth of the recession came around, resilients had an astounding 25-point higher EBITDA than nonresilients.”
Additional McKinsey research demonstrates the power of sustained innovation during challenging periods: “Organizations that maintained their innovation focus through the 2009 financial crisis, for example, emerged stronger, outperforming the market average by more than 30 percent and continuing to deliver accelerated growth over the subsequent three to five years.”
These findings support Jim Carroll’s approach and demonstrate the value of strategic action during uncertainty.
From Uncertainty to Action: The Framework That Works
Futurist speaker Jim Carroll provides corporate audiences with proven strategies for building momentum when others freeze. His approach helps organizations move through uncertainty, lead with resilience, and turn chaos into clarity:
Move Through Uncertainty – Build momentum when others freeze. Learn how to take confident, forward action even when clarity is scarce, discovering how small moves create breakthroughs.
Lead With Resilience – Thrive in disruption not despite it, but because of it. Develop the mindset and strategy to adapt, inspire your team, and stay grounded when everything around you is shifting.
Turn Chaos Into Clarity – Create structure, insight, and speed in the fog. Gain tools to prototype, experiment, and act quickly—turning volatility into a competitive advantage while others overthink.
This approach helps organizations develop the mindset needed for navigating volatile environments and transforming uncertainty into strategic opportunity.
Why Organizations Choose Jim Carroll
Jim Carroll brings a unique perspective to corporate audiences through his experience as a global futurist. His presentations focus on helping leaders understand how to navigate uncertainty and identify opportunities during challenging periods.
Jim Carroll combines decades of futurist expertise with practical insights for business leaders facing rapid change and economic volatility.
Ready to Dance in Your Storm?
Is your organization positioned to thrive when the next storm hits? The leaders who will define the coming decade are making strategic moves today, while others wait for conditions to improve.
The choice is clear: retreat and hope, or advance with purpose. The data proves that bold action during uncertainty separates organizations that emerge stronger from those that merely survive.
Your future depends on the choices you make during stormy times. Don’t wait for the storm to pass—learn to dance in it.
Looking for a futurist speaker who transforms uncertainty into opportunity? Jim Carroll helps organizations build the adaptive capacity needed for thriving in volatile environments, turning economic storms into competitive advantages.
National Speakers Bureau has been connecting organizations with transformational speakers for over 50 years. Our vetting process ensures every recommended speaker delivers actionable insights that can drive real business results.
Claim to Fame: Jim Carroll is a globally recognized futurist who has guided over 2 million people and 1,500+ organizations into the future, transforming how leaders think about uncertainty, innovation, and growth during challenging times.
