It's really surprising that some find this surprising
So many people just don’t see it coming, yet it’s so obvious, change is all around us, everywhere.
Nowhere is this more true than in enterprise. And yet business owners and senior management appear to me some of the most blind to how change may affect them. Of course they see the rapid advances in technology and most of them hold that in their hands on a daily basis. Perhaps they falsely feel that keeps them in touch. If they are not thinking about the effect of these changes on their business then it doesn’t.
This is really dangerous territory. This is the environment that Kodak found itself in whilst being the biggest player in photography and getting wiped out by digital and this is where Iridium found itself in the late 1980s setting up to provide mobile communications from satellites and spectacularly losing 5 billion for its investors as cell phone technology raced past as it looked the other way.
In spite of overwhelming evidence many businesses seem to be blindly stumbling on looking for an incremental increase in profit quarter on quarter, year-on-year, planning five years ahead and not even understanding what may be happening in the next six months to totally disrupt their market.
Given the incredible pace of change it is obvious that some deep and hard thinking needs to happen swiftly about any and all enterprise.
Maybe there’re are two people sitting in a garage right now planning to disrupt your entire commercial world. Whatever it is they currently make perhaps they are planning to print it, customise it, make it much cheaper, faster, better lighter, or a cooler design. Maybe by sharing a set of 3D Printing instructions worldwide? Perhaps they have worked out how to provide services in a much more efficient way, a way the market will readily accept a way that gives much more value to clients.
So yes, many businesses may be in trouble without even knowing it. In fact that is a certainty.
Thinking required
Business leaders need to think very hard about the above and need to get some other people thinking along with them. People who know their market and their business and people that don’t.
“My Gift was not Knowing” — Sara Blakeley
Having some fresh insight from people that can express it well and extract insight from leaders and their teams is crucial right now.
Otherwise you might not notice until its too late and maybe even have your own ‘Kodak Moment’.
Talk to us — we can help your team to think about the challenges and opportunities . Working with Rushmans and Group Partners is always effective because we make sure it will be. Otherwise we wont take the assignment.
Anyway it wont hurt to find out right? Just mail me nigelrushman@rushmans.com or please connect on social media — I am on most of them . . .
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