I meet a lot of people in business who aren't prepared to adapt to where their industry is headed or to what their ideal customer really wants.
Inevitably those same companies often go out of business and/or suffers a huge reduction in that amount of revenue that it can produce.
Similarly, friends and family who are employees of a large corporate institution are completely oblivious (or flat out refuse to believe) that robotics and AI will replace them within the next 5-10 years.
Sure, some entrepreneurs make it and some employees will be bulletproof. But most won’t.
Have you ever noticed that of the businesses that make it, most ended up being very different to their original vision?
Facebook is a great example: it was built in a dorm room for college students to check out other “hot” students. It was never originally designed to be an integral part of millions of people’s daily lives and to be used by people of every race, nationality, age group and level of education.
Facebook's entire growth strategy was to adapt their business ideas to fit with what the market wanted from them.
As they were smart enough to innovate, they’ve become a global powerhouse that some would believe is capable of influencing the outcome of a US election.
You need to be ready to adapt. AI and robotics is going to decimate ¾ of the workforce.
Even if you’re well educated and a part of a large global institution, and if it can be imagined at all possible that AI or robotics can do your job, then your future is on the line… unless you adapt.
Similarly, if you own an e-commerce store or if your website is getting a boatload of traffic, then it won’t last unless you adapt to the rise of voice search and popular voice platforms like Alexa and Google Home.
It takes creativity and imagination but also being able to survey business trends and the direction that society is headed. If you’re seeking inspiration for a business growth strategy then look around you.
Watching how other people live their lives and the directions that their professions are headed towards can help to guide you towards anticipating where things will be in the next five to ten years and to then adapt.
A great business strategy example is a local tourist attraction that I recently took my kids to one afternoon during the Easter break.
It’s a working farm, but what makes it different from any other farm is that it has a farm museum, petting zoo, a cafe, gift shop, tractor rides and is subsidised by the National Lottery, local council and national government.
So while farms up and down the country are by all accounts crippled by supermarket prices and international produce, this farm is producing bumper profits regardless of the economic climate and the effects that it has on British farming.
Why?
Because they were smart enough to see where their industry was headed. They used imagination and creativity to build a death proof business strategy.
Would love to hear your thoughts on the above and how you adapt to your industry and marketplace.
Thanks.
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