News headlines continue to be filled with disaster; preaching pending doom and tales of incompetence. Always remember that news organisations love disaster. It sells media because it’s far more compelling (eye-ball grabbing) than slow improvements.
A look across the globe shows rates of poverty are going down, average incomes are going up, and our longevity is increasing. The world is actually doing pretty well in all measures.
The media know that fear drives our behaviour more so than confidence & that people are far more likely to buy something to solve a problem than we are to meet a desire.
In reality, we are living in abundant times, not scarce ones; so what’s your growth plan?
Technology is creating huge amounts of opportunity in most industries. For example, there is technology coming online now (little babel-fish-like earbuds that fit in our ears and instantly translate any language) that means that everyone on the planet can now be a potential customer.
We’re more connected than ever which means not only can your customers be anywhere, your competitors are also virtually everyone on the planet too.
What can we learn from the LOCK-DOWN experience?
Covid and the ensuing lockdowns have rapidly increased the adoption of virtual-meeting tools such as Zoom, GoToMeeting etc. In one of my previous businesses, RESULTS.com, we adopted the use of GoToMeeting in 2005. We could not have engaged new and existing customers across the globe without it. Moreover, how else could we maintain our own weekly meeting rhythm with 13 offices in 3 countries and 150 staff.
This (then new) tool allowed for our continued expansion at a fraction of what it would have otherwise cost us. Fast forward to early 2020 (just prior to Covid) and most business leaders would still tell me they need to meet face to face because virtual meetings would not work for their business.
One of the few upsides from the lockdown experience!
Fortunately, lockdowns meant most had no other choice. It showed the cynics that virtual meetings do work and they can be as functional or ‘more functional’ than a face-to-face meeting in most instances. It’s a fantastic example of why it’s so important to be an early adopter to stay relevant.
I’ll often reference Moore’s Law to make this point. In 1975, Intel CEO, Gordon Moore released a paper that predicted that computers would double in speed and halve in price every two years. Fast-forward to now and they’ve been doing this ‘every 18 months’ since Moore’s prediction.
Similarly, futurist Ray Kurzweil predicted that by 2020, a $1000 computer would have more processing power than the human brain. That’s where we are now, and again the prediction rings true (as have 86% of all his predictions!). This doesn’t mean that a computer can think like a human –but the processors in a computer equate in power to the number of neurons in the human brain. By 2029, Kurzweil believes a $1000 computer will have 1000 times more processing power than the human brain.
My basic point is that not only are things changing, but the rate of that change is also accelerating.
“There will likely be more change in the next decade than there has been in the entire history of civilisation.” That’s mind-blowing. And while it might seem scary, it also means that we are opened up to a massive amount of possibilities.
The opportunity for businesses
The opportunities are there for the taking. So, how do we go about taking them? For starters, you have to think differently to compete in this highly connected and exponentially changing world. You have to plan and execute a strategy that enables you to win. And you have to pull your head up out of the sand regularly to look over the horizon to consider what’s coming.
A recent Forbes.com article summed it up beautifully with the idea that each new disruption opens another door to opportunity. They made the point that disruption is accelerating, so the organisations that will win are those that continue to monitor trends and look for ways to leverage them for their strategic advantage.
This is why I’m so passionate about quarterly planning. I advise the businesses I work with to look at their three-year horizon, consider the validity of their strategic goals, and iterate their plan where needed. Here’s something to ponder which demonstrates why this is so important… “If the rate of internal innovation inside your business doesn’t meet or exceed the rate of innovation happening in your marketplace, you’re going out of business.”
In this current rate of change, very few businesses finish the year with the same plan they had at the beginning; you must continuously iterate it. And that’s what a plan should do – it’s not static.
The Forbes article mirrors these thoughts well:
“One essential tool [for managing disruption] is the strategic planning process. This process itself looks different now than it did in the past. It provides a necessary structure for you to consider current and potential disruptions. The planning process allows leaders to envision the future and develop a business strategy to turn disruption into business advantage.”
The technologies that appear over the next one, two, or ten years might not be yours, but as they impact customer behavior, you can capitalise on, and utilise, them too. For example Amazon Prime will change the consumer landscape and I maintain that someday, our Uber Eats will show up via a drone. From self-driving cars to chatbots, some of the changes are obvious and already happening – but you don’t have to think big. Just keep watching the small things that you can use to give you a competitive edge.
Moving forward it will be your responsiveness that makes or breaks your business. As Charles Darwin famously said, “It’s not the strongest who survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.” Smart man; I would have to agree.
Over the coming issues, I will step you through a simple planning process that you can use to stay ahead of changes in your market-place and be seen as a market leader.
Look out for my next article… ”BE THE MARKET-LEADER”, It’s easier than you think”
Simon Mundell
Strategic Advisor
Advisory.Works