The world has sped up, hasn’t it? What used to take months or weeks now take hours or minutes. This is because technology innovations have increased the rate at which something can be produced. Moore’s Law is the observation that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. Moore’s Law also applies to the net effect of this speedup on all of us and to our daily lives. Additional information can be found here on this topic.
The good news is things tend to improve over time, even U.S. automobiles! Although much of the credit for these improvements have more to do with their international competition that beat them at their own game. But I digress. Technologies are now in our homes, phones, writing instruments, appliances, and has changed how we listen to music or watch movies.
How does this change your business?
As technology advances, the traditional barriers to enter a new market are reduced. A really big idea that changes everything, like UBER, can knock down decades of traditional thought and become the new leader in a matter of months. What was once unknown suddenly becomes known and quickly changes how we use transportation and how we view it. Another example of this trend is the huge number of people in urban centers who now view automobiles as yesterday’s thinking.
How can you adapt to this change?
- Talk to your customers – the most advanced strategy you can use is to know what your customers want tomorrow, not just what they need today.
- Analyze leading brands – be a data person. Know the numbers. Not just yours but your competition’s, too. Study them to determine how and why some brands are succeeding while others are failing.
- Be adaptive and agile – writing a 100-page business plan might not be your next best step anymore than reorganizing your entire business based on your “Gut Instincts.” This is offensive to some CEOs, I realize, but over many years of consulting I have found the CEOs who were largely unaware of their competition and new waves going through their industry did not succeed.
To remain relevant to your customers you need to keep pace with what is changing each and every day. What worked ten years ago may not work tomorrow. Chances are it won’t. So be open to the unexpected because in all likelihood it’s going to replace what is expected today.