Alertness to disruption
The times they are a changin’
People operating their own business like to be in control. They like to plan their activities, manage their people, market their wares and be the general architects of success in their field. Despite the singular drive to manage their environment, there are many functions outside their influence.
Economic factors like the strength of the economy and borrowing costs to finance can’t be influenced. Social factors, like education of the workforce and unemployment rates are not areas of control. Political factors and policy implementation like aggressive and unpredicted taxation is largely beyond the purview of entrepreneurs. And, technological change also seeps into business environments disrupting models markets.
There are many challenges beyond the reach or control of even the most organized and prepared business owners.
While few have influence on political change, everyone can be observant of trends and potentials of technological change. Investing energy to be conscious of what may be in development is a wise investment of time.
“If your time to you, is worth and affecting savin’. Then you better start swimmin’, or you’ll sink like a stone. For the times they are achangin’.” These timeless statements by poet Bob Dylan are as relevant to disruption today as they have been for the past 200 years.
There are readers of today’s article that have lived through some of the most monumental transformations in technological leaps humanity has experienced. These can be subtle like vaccinations or profound as structured education.
We have lived through great shifts in technology which have accelerated our culture and progressed our species. As significant as the agricultural revolution was the transition from labour intensive farming to the introduction of the tractor. Improvements in communication were facilitated through the transistor and radio changed how we receive information and shrunk the world (as have television and the Internet).
It is very recent that indispensable technologies such as indoor plumbing and electricity transformed comfort and productivity. These are gifts taken for granted. The only time one considers the miracle of electricity is when our dependency is broken with a disruption of service.
There are new and equally profound technological services being infused into our daily life. Many so rapidly we don’t recognize the impact. Everyone noticed the eureka of electricity when first introduced, but we likely don’t appreciate how pervasive the Internet-of-things becoming.
We are meandering through the increased digitization of our world around us. We can interact with data and largely interface with hardware in ways unimaginable a decade ago. The times are truly a changin’; “The slow ones now, will later be fast. As the present now will later be past. The order is rapidly fadin’. And the first ones now, will later be last.”
Business needs to remain awake and aware of the changes, destructive and disruptive effects on their current business models. is