Posts Tagged ‘Change’
Technology is evolving…fast. For that reason, it’s imperative that your firm focus not just on the changes that are happening today, but also on the technological trends that are emerging and shaping the future of your organization and your industry.
Why? Because the more anticipatory you can be in regard to technology, the more creatively you can use it to gain competitive advantage.
As someone who has been accurately predicting the future of technology for over 25 years, I urge all leaders to focus on the following three trends that are emerging and reshaping the business landscape as we know it.
1. Just-in-Time Training
Thanks to cloud-based technology, we’re on the brink of a revolution in just-in-time training. This will enable people to use their laptops, cell phones, and tablet computers as tools to receive training precisely when they need it. In the current training model used by many organizations, people receive training for a variety of things before they actually need the expertise, thus taking the people away from their jobs and costing the company a lot of money. With just-in-time training, companies can keep people in the field without the specific training.
Then, when the person needs a certain skill set to complete a job or do a task, he or she can receive the training for it in real time via cloud-based technology.
For example, suppose your company specializes in selling and repairing commercial HVAC units. There are a number of different units your repair staff needs to know how to fix. But rather than taking your people out of work and putting them in a multi-day training course, you keep them in the field without the specific training. When they have to repair a unit they are not familiar with, they can receive the training on how to fix it in real time via their mobile device as they are servicing the unit.
Now, let’s take this trend a step further. Suppose the commercial HVAC repair person is onsite, servicing something he’s never worked on before. He uses the just-in-time training module via his tablet computer. But he’s still confused about a certain aspect of the repair. All he has to do is touch the “help” icon on his screen and it immediately connects him to a master trainer live on the screen. But instead of just telling the master trainer what the problem is, the repair person can put on a headband that has a camera on the front, much like the headbands with a light on the front that people use for camping or car repair.
By wearing this digital, high-resolution camera that interfaces with the mobile device, the repair person can show the master trainer exactly what the issue is. Now that master trainer can see what the repair person sees and can tell him exactly what to do. The master trainer can lead the repair person through the repair as if he were standing right there with the repair person. Talk about a dramatic savings and increase in efficiency!
Realize that using cloud-based technology for just-in-time services goes way beyond repair. It could be used to train people on new software, train salespeople on product upgrades, instruct employees on new policies and procedures, etc. And it’s different and better than a standard tutorial, because the training can be accessed via any device, anywhere, and at anytime…and it offers an option for live help. In reality, the applications for cloud-based, just-in-time services are virtually limitless.
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Posted in Anticipating the future, Business Strategy, Competitive Advantage, Future Tech. Tags: Burrus, Certainty, Change, Cycles, cyclical change, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, desktop pc, Flash Foresight, future of the web, IT innovation, IT strategy, IT trends, tech news, Trends, Web 4.0. No Comments »
Between smart phones, smart pads, apps, cloud computing, and the myriad of other technological advances and transformations occurring today, many company leaders are wondering how to navigate it all. Historically, CEOs and other C-suite executives are used to having control over everything within the company’s walls. As such, they are not happy with the increased focus on such things as cloud computing, yet that’s precisely what their company’s staff is using when they use their personal computers to search Google or access other cloud-based applications.
This dislike for today’s new technology is understandable. It is, after all, outside of the control of the corporate veil the executives have worked so hard to develop and secure. But let’s face it…things like apps, SaaS, social media, smart phones, smart pads, and a host of other cloud computing options that your employees use, both at home and increasingly at work, are here to stay. Consider this: In early 2010, there were 150,000 apps just in the Apple store. Then that number increased to 200,000 apps. Now we’re close to 300,000 apps with billions of downloads. So it’s growing fast, with no indication of slowing down.
As a strategic consultant to large organizations, I’m amazed at how many executives are not embracing this paradigm shift. As a leader, you have to ask yourself, “Will there be more in the cloud options, including audio, video, storage, and apps, next year than there is this year? The answer is a resounding “Yes!” That means you can’t ignore it. Many of your own people are using cloud-based services right now. And if they’re using them, being more productive at home than they are in the workplace, and doing things that are more advanced on their smart phones and smart pads (at least in their minds), then your company has a problem. You can’t have people thinking the company is archaic in terms of technology or that the executive team is trying to hold people back. Instead, you need to be helping your people to move forward.
Granted, it’s human nature to protect and defend the status quo, and there are some security concerns with the emerging technologies. But at the same time, you have to remember the old adage that states, “It’s easier to ride a horse in the direction that it’s going.” In this case, the horses of technology are going in a new direction at a pace and speed we’ve never seen before. It’s time for executives to pay attention to this and do more than just go along for the ride.
Case in point: In January 1993, IBM knew the future of its company and it was the most admired company on the planet. But the horses of technology changed direction. By the end of 1993, IBM was getting close to going out of business. It missed the shift. But IBM is not an isolated case. Many other companies have missed the shift. Think about it…when was the last time you bought something from Polaroid?
Today’s gigantic technological shift is already taking place, and the last people who should miss it are today’s business leaders. The shift is here, it’s easy to see, and it’s as plain as day. Therefore, it’s time to start directing the horse on the journey. The question is, “How?”
Continue reading ‘Use Technology to Shape Your Company’s Future’ »
Posted in Business Strategy, Competitive Advantage, Future Tech. Tags: Burrus, Certainty, Change, Cycles, cyclical change, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, desktop pc, Flash Foresight, future of the web, IT innovation, IT strategy, IT trends, tech news, Trends, Web 4.0. No Comments »
Have you ever wished you could predict the future—and be right? What would it be like if you could clearly see critical changes in the months and years ahead and use those glimpses to shape that future, instead of just letting it unfold by default?
You can accurately predict enough of the future to make all the difference. In fact, you can hone your ability to trigger a burst of accurate insight about the future and use it to produce a new and radically different way of doing things. Called a flash foresight, this is about looking into the future and transforming it into a new paradigm for solving “impossible” problems, unearthing “invisible” opportunities, and running extraordinarily successful businesses in the twenty-first century.
For the past 25 years, I have been studying and systematically applying flash foresight, and I have discovered the following seven principles or “triggers” that lead to flash foresight results:
1. Start with certainty (use hard trends to see what’s coming)
You can use the power of certainty to spot and profit from future trends long before your competitors do. Just look at Apple, which accurately saw the trends of accelerating bandwidth, processing power, and high-capacity storage and harnessed them to create the megahits iPod, iTunes, iPhone and iPad. Meanwhile, Polaroid, Kodak, and Motorola spent years clinging to analog models while their competitors triumphed by grasping the arrival of the digital age.
Likewise, GM failed to respond to trends that were obvious for over a decade (rising gas prices, driven by increased global demand from China and India, and improving quality from foreign rivals).
Remember 1999, when the U.S. government predicted a trillion-dollar surplus? We’ve all made similar, wildly wrong predictions because we confuse cyclical change (the stock market) with linear change (population growth), and don’t know how to distinguish hard trends (the baby boomers are aging) from soft trends (there won’t be enough doctors to treat aging baby boomers). However, by distinguishing what’s certain (future fact) from what’s uncertain (future maybe), you can make accurate predictions.
Anyone can avoid the fate of Polaroid, Kodak, Motorola, and GM and instead create must-have products and high-demand services—as Apple, Canon, Toyota, and so many others have—by seeing what others can’t: the hard trends that are shaping our future.
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Posted in Anticipating the future, Business Strategy, Competitive Advantage, Flash Foresight. Tags: Burrus, Certainty, Change, Cycles, cyclical change, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, desktop pc, Flash Foresight, future of the web, IT innovation, IT strategy, IT trends, tech news, Trends, Web 4.0. No Comments »
In an era of budget, time, and labor constraints, is it possible to sell your ideas and concepts (which often require money, time, and labor to implement) to the CEO, CFO, Board of Directors, or whoever is in charge of the final decision? The answer is yes! You can sell your ideas up; it simply depends on how you frame the opportunity.
First things first: When you’re selling your ideas up, don’t talk about the idea itself. While that may sound strange, it’s the primary sales rule that most people break. Yes, you love your ideas and think they’re great, but not everyone loves the same things as you. And when you’re selling your ideas to others, you can’t focus on your preferences. Rather, you have to focus on the other person. Here’s how you do that.
Tune into the pain of the person you’re talking to.
Forget about yourself and how excited you are about this great new idea or concept you want the company to implement. At this point, you and your likes are not important. If you’re going to sell your idea or concept, you have to understand where the other person’s personal pain is. For example, maybe they’re dealing with an upset board or stockholders who don’t like last quarter’s results. Or perhaps they have to reorganize. Or maybe sales are down or they just lost the head of marketing to a competitor. Do your research and uncover the main challenge they’re dealing with right now.
Once you know the other person’s pain, you can position the idea or concept you want to sell as something that can solve that pain. In other words, you have to show the CEO, CFO, board, or whomever you’re selling to that there’s a direct payoff to them if they approve your idea. So if you know that the CEO’s greatest pain is the fact that the sales team isn’t communicating with marketing or manufacturing, resulting in lower sales and poor customer experiences, then you have to look at what you’re proposing and figure out how it can ease that pain or even solve that problem.
As you do this, state it clearly. Don’t make anyone guess or come to their own conclusions. For example, you could say, “I know you’re dealing with… [lagging sales, poor internal communications, customer complaints, etc.]. I’ve come across some things that I think can help you overcome those challenges. Obviously I want to help the company succeed and grow, so let me tell you about what I’ve found.”
Then talk about the new idea or concept in terms of solving the current problem only. Don’t go into all the benefits, functions, features, or costs. That’s an entirely different conversation you have later. Right now, you’re simply getting the decision maker on board with the idea or concept and in agreement that it will solve his or her problem.
Continue reading ‘Selling Your Ideas Up: How to Overcome Objections and Get Your Ideas Approved’ »
Posted in Anticipating the future, Business Strategy, Sales. Tags: Burrus, Certainty, Change, Cycles, cyclical change, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, desktop pc, Flash Foresight, future of the web, IT innovation, IT strategy, IT trends, tech news, Trends, Web 4.0. No Comments »
By James E. Gaskin
The corporate desktop has looked the same for decades: computer, keyboard, mouse, desk phone, maybe a printer. But do these tools dominate because they’re the perfect combination of technology needed for work today, or is the enterprise workplace due for an extreme makeover?
The corporate desktop has looked the same for decades: computer, keyboard, mouse, desk phone, maybe a printer. But do these tools dominate because they’re the perfect combination of technology needed for work today, or is the enterprise workplace due for an extreme makeover?
According to industry analysts, hardware vendors, architects and futurists, the odds that major changes will revamp the standard corporate cubicle, technology tools and even buildings, rise every day.
Of course, fundamental changes like this don’t happen at all once. “When you’ve got hardware in place, it’s tough to yank it out,” cautions Rob Enderle, principal analyst for the Enderle Group. “Some corporate PBXs are still in use from the 1980s. Faxing was declared dead in 1995, but I have two in my office.”
Enderle’s point is that it takes a major event to upset the status quo, but that event, or confluence of events, appears to be happening today.
The proliferation of mobile devices, the broad availability of high-speed wireless access, cloud-based services and browser-based videoconferencing mean that employees no long have to be tied to their desktop PCs.
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Posted in Technology News. Tags: Burrus, Certainty, Change, Cycles, cyclical change, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, desktop pc, Flash Foresight, future of the web, IT innovation, IT strategy, IT trends, tech news, Trends, Web 4.0. No Comments »
My special report recently published on CIO Update:
For many people, change is difficult and transformation even more so. According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, “change” means “to make something different,” while “transform” means “to make a thorough or dramatic change.” It is a difference of degree, I admit, but that degree is so extreme that it becomes a qualitative difference.
Changing means continuing to do essentially the same thing, only introducing some variation in degree. Build it a little bigger, smaller, faster, higher, longer. Increase the marketing budget. Add a few staff to the department. Come up with a new slogan. But today’s business problems cannot be fixed by changing, nor can organizations or industries survive simply by changing. Embracing change is no longer enough: We need to transform.
Transformation means doing something utterly and radically different. It means nanofusion; it means using algae as a fuel source; and reimagining GM on the Dell model. In the early 1990s, Barnes & Noble superstores changed how we shop for books. By the mid-1990s, Amazon was transforming how we shopped for books, which then transformed how we shop for everything.
If you’re a Baby Boomer, you likely remember listening to music on long-playing vinyl disks. When eight-track tapes and then cassette tapes came out, that was a great change: now you could hear the music in the car. When the industry moved from LPs and cassettes to CDs, that was an even better change: now you could hear your favorite music without the hisses and scratches.
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Posted in Press, Special Report, Technology News. Tags: Burris, Burrus, Certainty, Change, Cycles, cyclical change, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, Flash Foresight, future of the web, IT innovation, IT strategy, IT trends, Trends, Web 4.0. No Comments »
Recently published by Mitchel York of About.com.
In his excellent new book, Flash Foresight: How to See the Invisible and Do the Impossible, Daniel Burrus makes a point of discussing the opportunity for entrepreneurial ventures aimed at Baby Boomers. There were 78 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964. Burrus says 80 percent of the nation’s wealth is controlled by people over the age of 50. So what are entrepreneurs doing about it? Forward-looking ones are taking the “hard trend” of demographic certainty to innovate. Some ideas that are already on the market, or should be:
• Personal elevators retrofitted onto the outside of homes
• Video games that place you at Woodstock, the 1968 Democratic Convention or the Chicago 7 trial and let you interact with friends
• Late-life financial planning products
• “Unretirement homes” that combine the health-care resources of nursing homes with upscale style and design
• “Green” funeral homes and boomer cemetaries that match Boomer attitudes about body disposal
• RFID tags and other technologies to help seniors read prescription bottles by getting the information off the bottle and onto computer or smartphone screens, which have more room and capacity to explain drugs.
So, what are some of the entrepreneurial innovations you’re hearing about (or creating) aimed at the Boomer set?
Read the Original Post >
Posted in Entrepreneurs, Innovation, Technology News. Tags: About.com, baby boomers, Burris, Burrus, Certainty, Change, CNBC Street Signs, Cycles, cyclical change, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, Entrepreneur, Flash Foresight, Trends. 1 Comment »
I will be appearing LIVE on CNBC’s Street Signs show on Monday, June 6th. Street Signs airs weekly from 2-3pm EST. I hope you will tune in.
Posted in Press. Tags: Burris, Burrus, Certainty, Change, CNBC Street Signs, Cycles, cyclical change, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, Flash Foresight, Trends. No Comments »
In my new book Flash Foresight, I share seven principles that can make invisible opportunities visible. One of my favorite principles is using the power of certainty.
In times of unprecedented change and uncertainty, we need to ask ourselves, “What are we certain about?” Strategies based on uncertainty equal high levels of risk. Strategies based on certainty dramatically reduce risk and produce superior results.
Continue reading ‘The Power of Certainty’ »
Posted in Anticipating the future, Competitive Advantage, Cyclical and Permanent Change. Tags: Burris, Burrus, Certainty, Change, Cycles, cyclical change, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, Flash Foresight, Trends. 1 Comment »
Look at the specific ways in which you compete in the marketplace as well as what makes you unique. Then decide how technology can redefine the way you compete. For example, when was the last time you bought something from the Polaroid Company? At one time, they were the king of instant photography. But then technology and digital photography changed their industry, and the way they competed (instant photography) changed…but Polaroid didn’t change with it.
Continue reading ‘Always Take Competition Seriously’ »
Posted in Anticipating the future, Competitive Advantage, Customer Service, Future Tech, Planning, Solving Problems. Tags: Anticipate, Burrus, Business Growth, Business Strategy, Change, Compete, Competition, Competition in the Marketplace, Competitive Advantage, Customer Service, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, Exceed Expectations, Future Technology, Redefine, Redefining, Technology, Technology-driven change. 1 Comment »
This month, we celebrate the 25th anniversary of our Technotrends Newsletter, which provides technology news and insights that have shaped this technology-enabled world we now live in. As I look at our subscriber list, which is made up of major news agencies, universities, research labs, executives from almost every industry, entrepreneurs, and interested individuals from all over the world, I’m amazed at how many have been with us from the very beginning – thank you!
Having just re-read our first issue where we reported the rise of e-mail, electronic news, downloadable software, laser eye surgery, medical and industrial robots, optical storage disks, wireless communications, and genetic engineering, to name a few, it’s hard now to imagine that there was a time when we didn’t have all of those things. As predicted, technology has changed how we live, work and play.
FROM CHANGE TO TRANSFORMATION
We are now at the dawn of a profound technology-driven transformation that will make the changes we have experienced over the past 25 years seem small and slow.
Notice I used the word transformation and not change. When I was in high school, I listened to my music on LP albums, one album per spinning disk. Years later a welcome change happened, I could listen to my albums on a CD, basically a smaller spinning disk without the hiss and scratches. I liked this change and repurchased all of my favorite albums.
Thanks to the iPod revolution, I now have all my albums in one small device that is with me all the time. iPods and all other MP3 players haven’t changed how we listen to music, they’ve transformed it. And once transformed, you aren’t going back.
We are about to transform how we sell, market, communicate, collaborate, innovate, watch TV, learn and, as you might guess, much more.
THE OPPORTUNITY IS BIGGER THAN THE CRISIS
As we’ve all read about and experienced the financial crisis, the housing crisis, and the unemployment crisis, it’s important to understand that under the fog of crisis, sits a mountain of unprecedented opportunity for all who take the time to discover and act on it.
Technology is driving transformative change, our new president is driving change, the new global reality is demanding change, and as the ancient Chinese philosophers wrote, change is opportunity. Look at the hard trend drivers I have discussed in past articles, demographics, government regulations, and technology innovation. Look for opportunities and embrace change.
GM, Chrysler, and Ford saw change as a threat and spent valuable time and money protecting and defending the status quo. The unions spent time and money protecting and defending the status quo. Protecting and defending the status quo is human nature, but in a world of transformational change you need to get over it fast.
The auto industry is going through a needed rebirth based on the new realities of the 21st century. Those that see the direction of change and change with it will prosper. We have a new president whose platform is change. Billions of dollars will be put into play, and new laws will be passed that will provide a window to profitability and growth. Pay attention! If money is going into infrastructure, opportunity will follow. If money is going into alternative energy and green, opportunity will follow. If money is going into research and science, opportunity will follow. Follow the money and you will see the opportunity.
My grandfather lived on a farm in north Texas and one day while helping him on the farm he shared some wisdom with me. He said, “It’s easier to ride a horse in the direction it’s going”. The horses we have been riding have been on a familiar path making it easy. They are about to change direction and if you try to ride them in the same old direction, it will be a battle all the way.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you personally, and for your organization. Don’t miss it!
Posted in Anticipating the future, Future Tech, New Tools, Planning, Solving Problems. Tags: Burrus, Change, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, opportunity, Recession, Regulations, Technology Innovation, Technotrends, Technotrends Newsletter, Transformation, Unemployment. 1 Comment »
In the past month, I have given speeches to some of the nations top Real Estate agents, and a few days later, to executives from the largest Mortgage companies. As you might guess, none of them were very happy. This isn’t hard to understand when you consider that in Nevada, one in eight homes are in foreclosure, and soon mortgage lenders will own 25% of all the homes in the entire United States. Every day the news gets worse with no end in sight. In both audiences, the mind set was a mirror image of their entire industry – crisis.
I asked both groups; “Is the dramatic downturn in the housing market and the accelerating rate of foreclosures a permanent change or a cyclical change?” I could see on their faces a sigh of relief when they all agreed that what they were experiencing was a cyclical change.
What I did with a single question was help them to see light at the end of the tunnel – there will definitely be an end to the current situation.
Next I asked; “Will people continue to both want and need to buy and/or sell homes?” Once again they said yes! Will they need an agent and a mortgage? Yes! At this point, in both cases, you could feel the energy shifting in the room.
I asked the agents if there were opportunities in helping lenders liquidate foreclosures. This question seemed to open their minds to look for hidden opportunities they could act on today. And, when you have a room full of top sales professionals who have a mindset of opportunity instead of crisis, positive ideas begin to flow.
I asked the mortgage lenders if they wanted to own 25% of the homes in the entire United Sates due to foreclosures on their loans? No, they all responded.
Will the value of homes go back up again if we look beyond two to five years? Yes they agreed.
To stimulate their thinking further, I suggested that they provide an option to refinance mortgages by extending them to forty or even fifty years giving the homeowner the ability to keep making payments – a lower payment they can afford – and more time for their house to regain its value. Lenders could even add a mandatory life insurance and/or unemployment insurance policy. Continuing to collect billions of dollars in mortgage payments might be better than experiencing billions of dollars in losses.
As with the real estate agents, the room started buzzing with positive energy. The suggestions stimulated their thinking and their crisis mentality started shifting to identifying new opportunities.
Are daily bad news headlines keeping you from seeing the unlimited possibilities that are right in front of you? Ask yourself if the challenges you are experiencing are cyclical or permanent. Look for opportunities. The more you look, the more you will find.
Posted in Anticipating the future, Cyclical and Permanent Change, Planning, Sales, Solving Problems. Tags: Burrus, Change, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, Foreclosure, Lenders, Mortgage, opportunity, Real Estate. No Comments »
In recent years, global competition, especially from China and India, has been causing many Americans to wonder whether we are in danger of losing the tremendous lead, and earning power, we have had over other countries for the past 50 years. To see the future of American business, it’s a good idea to begin by taking a look at what is happening in our schools. After all, the future workforce is already there for us to see.
In recent tests of general knowledge, U.S. 12th graders performed well below the international average for 21 countries. In addition, an advanced mathematics assessment conducted in 15 countries revealed that eleven of the 15 countries outperformed U.S. students. In 2004, more than 600,000 engineers graduated from institutions of higher education in China. In India, the figure was 350,000. In the U.S., it was 70,000.
Now, I know what many of you are thinking – our graduating chemists and engineers are better. Perhaps, and perhaps not. Regardless, we need to consider that: 1) many of the functions that businesses need chemists or engineers to perform can be done by average engineers and chemists, and 2) the rest of the world is rapidly upgrading their universities to close the quality gap with regard to education standards.
Is the U.S. ready for global competition? In light of these facts, it doesn’t look good. But Americans have a long history of doing amazing (and even seemingly impossible) things once we accept the facts and focus our collective minds and efforts on taking action!
Posted in Anticipating the future, Competitive Advantage, Cyclical and Permanent Change, Solving Problems. Tags: Burrus, Change, Change Management, Competition, Competitive Advantage, Dan Burrus, Daniel Burrus, Global Competition, Solving Problems. No Comments »
Technology is evolving…fast. For that reason, it’s imperative that your firm focus not just on the changes that are happening today, but also on the technological trends that are emerging and shaping the future of your organization and your industry.
