Over the Xmas period I’m writing an eBook considering how business is changing including the fundamental shifts we are experiencing and, also the key things we possibly need to get back to. It will cover between 50 and 100 words all supplied by my colleagues, clients, followers, connections and fans. Although, I may throw a few into the mix.

I’m hoping to provide an overview of some critical factors that will influence the future of work and business. Some of you have been kind enough already to provide some interesting topics such as; value, adaption, substance, competition, talent, time and feel.

It would be great if you could join in! I’ll reference you in the book and provide a hyperlink to your website or blog. Hopefully, I can provide some thought provoking ideas and thoughts with a bit of humility too. Can’t wait for the conversation to start once it’s published in February/March 2010.

If you want to contribute a word or two, please just make a comment on this blog, direct message me on www.twitter.com/annholman or, email me at ann@annholman.co.uk

Thanks!

It’s not about old versus new, or tradition versus innovation or, creativity instead of convention and slow versus fast. It’s actually about combining the them and understanding how they add value to your business. No one should drop the conventional way of doing things overnight without thinking about how they are going to develop a culture of creativity. Nor, should anything be banished to the dungeons of the company just because it ain’t trendy anymore without careful consideration.

There is a danger in abandoning everything we know. Things are definitely changing, more rapidly than we ever imagined and it will only get quicker. But sometimes, it’s the traditional things you do that make you different and sometimes even better. Occasionally, it’s very important to go slow, very slow. Change the pace of things and issues look very different.

Retaining some of the old stuff can be just as significant as embracing the new way of doing things. The important point to know is how they impact, which ones to keep and develop and which new ideas you need to go full pelt at. Is what you are doing good enough and what is missing?

Spot on again Seth. Go and buy the book too, it’s worth every penny.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/seth_godin_on_the_tribes_we_lead.html

We can’t touch certainty anymore. Fluctuations in business activity will never be the same again after this economic downturn. Historically, we have spent enormous segments of time and money on protecting ourselves from uncertainty through risk management strategies.

We try to manage uncertainty by considering past events, but these will always look more certain than they actually were at the time, thanks to our ability to be struck by hindsight. How can you have a method for calculating future risks and uncertainty if the only thing we know for certain is uncertainty? And, whilst we are busy looking over our shoulder at the past, we have the possibility of tripping right over the future!

Boo! is what I hear when we talk about vision (actually it’s usually a depleted groan.) Why? Because small businesses either don’t do it or don’t share it. At best it can be often fragmented, at it’s worst, drivel. Yet vision, or should I say common purpose, is the starting block of being able to influence and shape the future not control it.

This common purpose isn’t a fancy, fluffy cloud in the sky. It’s based on expectations, market cycle, value proposition and future trends not backward looking thinking. It’s a way of motivating people towards at least some light at the end of the tunnel, some reason for what they do and, of course, meaning. Unless you know what you’re trying to hit, how the hell do you know where to aim.

Stop considering how likely an event is to happen based on previous experience and start thinking about what you are going to do if it does.

Are we missing potential opportunities in a downturn because we are narrow minded or lack the lateral vision to see things differently and spot potential benefits we have never considered before? It’s not meant to offend, however, there are fundamental shifts happening in our demographics and culture we need to at least pass the time of day with.

We are not being born nor are we dying. We have an aging population and a population that sees itself differently than previous generations. Some marketing aimed at over 50′s is downright out of date and indeed embarrassing but, the point is there is a huge market to possibly weave into your marketing segmentation.

In the UK, 14% of the population are registered disabled. The way we live is changing, single occupancy in homes is set to explode. People from an ethnic background (thankfully) are increasingly being seen in positions of authority with strong careers. Gay people are now not just integrated into society but are playing a leading role in progress. And, we all know the changes in the workplace that women leaders have made now they have entered the frame.Â

Yet, businesses are obsessively focused on young people perhaps because most marketing decisions in business are being made by young people! We concentrate on a segment we think has the longest future. Yet who has the most disposable income? Who eats out regularly? Who spends money on the latest technology? It’s a myth that only the young are early adopters or the early mass majority. Often those very people can be found in significant amounts amongst the groups highlighted earlier.

As the population stabilises and we grow older and more diverse, those companies with the foresight to consider how they can meet their needs will have scored nothing short of a home run.

Our businesses are run by people (often accountants) who have a huge problem with the future. Number counters make businesses data driven. They base the future of the small business on the past, on things that have already happened. Often people who can’t focus on the future struggle because they don’t like things they can’t ‘hang their hat on.’ This limits thinking, stifles growth and stunts creativity.

In fact, many people manage out the unexpected, new ideas and innovate change with deliberate and clinical effect. But it’s often more about what you can’t see thats important rather than what you can. We’ve known for years small businesses fail to grow because they focus too much on the now rather than on those things on the horizon. Anyway, the point is someone should be looking!

It’s fundamental we think about the future and it’s implications rather than not at all!