The World has Changed.

The world has changed. COVID-19 has altered the course of our trajectory forever. By now everyone knows that because everyone is saying so and not without good reason. Those who say that the world is changing are wrong. It has changed and we have no option but catch up quick or become obsolete. We cannot go back to what was, we have no choice in the matter but to go forward. The question we should be asking is "How".  

Most, perhaps all businesses have found themselves to be in a state of un-readiness. It is of our own making. We have paid lip service to fusing technology in all aspects of business for over 10 years. How far have we gone down the road? Most businesses and industries have a measure of clever tech but the main drivers of that are Cost to Serve, Sales, Profits & Sustainability. While these are still important new values have risen out of the old which are forcing change. Intellectuals have many different pillars of what makes a successful business. They mostly go for 3 but they are all contained in:

1: What's in it for me.  [Owners / Directors]

2: What's in it for you. [Customers / Employees]

3: What's in it for those who come after me. [Stewardship / Sustainability]  

For us to achieve this 4th Industrial revolution we must become doers and not dreamers. Fusing "out of this world" technology [because that is what we have] with how we operate is not dragging out because it is difficult. It already exists, it is just not connected. We are not connecting them because we are afraid of change! I am not saying that because we do not like change or do not get excited about new ways of working, we are afraid of giving up our control. Remember the old days of banking ledgers and savings books. We got over our fear of plastic cards and machines dispensing money and computers telling us how much money we had when we realized that it actually worked. Compare that with today’s technological change. We know computers work. Their margin for error is minuscule and it is usually due to an operator feeding it inaccurate info. A computer only does what it is told to do so in principle it is the same as the old Bank Teller. One must follow the rules or the system be it automated or not just won't produce the desired results.  

Integrating technologies is not difficult anymore. Finding money to pay for tech is not difficult either. One can always link payment to results over time. Customers should not be a problem either. We are used to technology, we get excited about new tech, we are not prepared wait. We want all the bells and whistles.      

Today we are faced with keeping the doors of enterprise open without killing each other off. The aftermath of our Global Village has caught up with us. This will not be the first and last Pandemic we face. I am convinced we will go through another in the next 10 years, perhaps even 5. Once the environment is safe, go and take some disruptive steps in your business. After all, are you not in it for the long haul?