Jason Feifer
Build for Tomorrow
ISBN: 978-0-593-23538-6
Over the past three years, the world has completely changed. The coronavirus pandemic changed the way people and companies do business, and changed the way people view work-life balance and the time spent with family and friends. These changes are ongoing and are probably happening much faster than most of us would like. In most cases, there is no option to go backwards and return to the world in which we lived in 2019 and before.
Jason Feifer’s book Build for Tomorrow encapsulates the attitude of the 2020s – there is only forward movement, whether you want it or not. He lays out four stages of change over the course of the book: Panic, Adaptation, New Normal, and Wouldn’t Go Back. These stages felt a little bit like the five stages of grief that people work through when they lose a family member or close friend. There has been so much change over the past three years that it, at times, does feel similar to losing someone close – not to mention the people who actually lost someone really close due to the pandemic.
I thought that the book was a fantastically crafted narrative, and I really enjoyed the first half of the book. Panic and adaptation were with us even before the pandemic period began. I vividly remember the Financial Crisis in 2008, when many of my generation were finishing college and graduate school and were entering one of the roughest job markets in recent history. There was a fair amount of panic among people my age when many of the entry-level jobs dried up for several years. I was incredibly lucky to find a position at the College of Public Health, thanks to years of getting to know the right people and producing quality work.
While I really enjoyed the first half of the book, I wasn’t completely on board for the second half. One of the most overused terms of 2020 was “new normal” – I can’t stand this phrase. I understand the concept at play here, as you can’t completely return to the way things were when you adapt to a new situation, living arrangement, or job. The new point of homeostasis is a “new normal,” but the phrase took on a meaning three years ago that it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth each time I see it.
I also disagreed strongly with the final section, Wouldn’t Go Back. If you could go back to the way things were in 2019, would you? There are a great number of people who probably would. Not everything new and exciting is worth celebrating – there is a major problem with this type of attitude in the startup world, which I refer to as “Shiny Thing Syndrome.” Certain segments of the startup community have Shiny Thing Syndrome, promoting and celebrating the latest flavor of the week rather than continuing to support those who consistently show up and help build the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. I’ve railed against Shiny Thing Syndrome elsewhere in this blog over the past eight years.
Feifer tends to have a bias toward the future in this book and in his writing. However, one should reflect on the journey to the present in equal importance to what could happen in the future. I know that I’ve had a great deal of success post-2020, but it’s because I planted a ton of seeds before the pandemic. I showed up, I volunteered, and I made a great deal of connections with people all across the United States and beyond. I’ve had the chance to do some great things and visit some amazing places in the last two years due specifically to that previous hard work. I do look to the future, but I think that the author should have reflected a bit more on the work that got him to the place where he is today.
Overall, 8/10 would recommend to anyone looking for some motivation in this ever-changing period. While I think there is some sound advice throughout most of the book, I wouldn’t mind some aspects of my life going back to 2019 and before. However, I understand the need to adapt to new situations, as we are not ever going back to the way things were. I still refuse to use the phrase “new normal,” and you shouldn’t either.