Each generation has it’s opportunity to improve things for the better. Each generation has it’s challenges when it comes to terrorism and war. Each generation has to face the inevitable changes that affect business lives. Each generation has to understand that change isn’t necessarily for the worse.

There is no denying that the web and technology has provided us with shifting sands and there are some things that have died; destructive competition. Broadcasting and shouting. Sales pitches, safe, mundane relationships with customers and employees. Being in control and managing people. The traditional way of making a profit. Copyright and patronising conversations. Silence. Corporate speak and organisational structures. Them and us. Marketing in the traditional sense. The memo and email. Egotistical management and scarcity. Information on a need to know basis.

I could go on. Unlike leg warmers, pogo sticks and lego, they are not going to make a come back, no matter how retro they may look in the future!

Don’t know about you but most companies bore me stiff.  They’ve become stifled in traditional business models where egos rule and play is non-existent. There are exceptions like www.outersight.co.uk who are doing exciting things, but, there are many out there wrapping themselves in dodgy Christmas wrapping paper, frigid, frightened to do anything too maverick, excited by something they think is special but isn’t.

I couldn’t work in one, scares the living daylights out of me. Yet these very organisations are supposed to be the leaders in their field, the innovators of our time. But they are not, because they haven’t abandoned the very things they needed to abandon. Its hard to see how these archaic ships of the past can change and change as rapidly as they need to before they perish in the rough seas ahead.

Enter the small business. Nimble, fast, lean, ideas led. But we need to act fast and differentiate where our advantage is now and in the near future….knowledge, expertise, skills, value and in the people we employ including ourselves of course.

Get two or three people involved in the business who are a little maverick, freaky, cutting edge even slightly mad and get rid of the people, including customers who are adding no value at all. People slightly off the wall are always full of ideas.

Spend an enormous amount of time nurturing your stars. Create individual employee experiences with them and don’t rule out ‘wet behind the ears’ graduates. They are quick, keen, technology savvy and haven’t been conditioned yet. Let people express themselves, snub anything that fosters traditional thinking and allow your people to be intrigued, curious and ambitious in problem solving and ideas generation.

Only work with customers who are going to challenge your people and, of course, have fun because work can be fun, we just need to encourage it. Let the big corporates and small inert companies be strangled by procedures, devoid of curiosity, saturated by ego, driven by tradition and ensnared by routine. Take a deep breath and jump!

If you thought social media was a fad…watch this…..love it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8

Just finished Chris Anderson’s new book “Free.” Despite it’s potentially contentious content, the book throws new light on how to make money out of offering free products. Occasionally, its in danger of being too much of a history lesson, but you can’t avoid the main points Chris has wanted to communicate in his usual blatant style.

I guarantee that it will get you thinking and could turn the way you look at your business upside down, particularly, if you are involved in any form of digital content. For me, its certainly helped me look at the future business model of my company and clarified some thinking. The key statements:

1. “People are making lots of money out of charging nothing.”

2. “Those that understand the new ‘Free’ will command tomorrow’s markets and disrupt today’s.”

3. “Free may be the best price, but it can’t be the only one.”

It’s an extraordinary look at how you can use ‘Free’ to shift your business not only into a different gear, but, into a different world. There are useful examples of how some businesses have taken advantage of ‘Free’ and those that haven’t. How new business models that exploit the concept will be the survivors and leaders of the future. There are still a few questions, particularly why digital content is worth significantly less than a physical product such as a book (omitting the overhead cost of the book) despite the same amount of imagination, knowledge and experience that goes into it. And, the damage that ‘Free’ may do to some companies. However,  despite Anderson occasionally looking at the world through rose tinted glasses, you’ll get to the end of ‘Free’ and think that its actually a blinding flash of the obvious!

Don’t forget as well as buying the ‘atom’ form of the book you can download a free copy of the ‘bit’ form from Chris Anderson’s website!

Two masters in one place….cool!

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/07/four-videos-about-noise-social-and-decency.html

If only it was another blip, a rough spell, a dip in the economic cycle but this time its not. Things have shifted and they have shifted radically. The financial sector will go back to ‘business as usual’ there is not doubt, despite new rules and regulations. But for most of us, the sand has moved and people’s mood has changed. The tide has more than just turned.

The eclectic mix of urgency, technology, culture and transparency will continue to drive truly interesting times over the next few years. This shift was happened already, an economic crisis just gave it a good old nudge. Much is going to change but some of the most fundamental are:

Innovation – Progress is a sure thing but it won’t just come from the big corporates, most innovation in the future will come from small groups of people or individuals. Innovation will be rampant in information technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, science and clean energy. For the business owner now is the time to ring fence your R & D budget and protect it as if your life depended on it. Research suggests that those who invest in R & D during a downturn will out perform those when things get better.

Fast and slow – The unabated swing to doing things fast ever increases. It’s hard to see where it will stop? There will be a point when we out run ourselves. Things move so fast now that many regard market research and preparing for a product launch with precision, completely outdated and that most products/services just need to be launched and then learn from that. Basically, stuff the research beforehand. Whether it’s reckless or responsive depends on your market place. There are times to slow down, take stock, understand the purpose and consider growth to ensure you don’t get mowed down in the process but also maintain an air of unabridged control. Perhaps we need to fail fast and grow slow?

Talent – Your employees will be the hub of your business not you or the business entity. Prepare for some huge changes in the way you will need to attract, lead and retain exceptional people with huge heaps of knowledge. There will be a war for talent and retention will be a large part of the small business owner’s role and output. No point in attracting bright people only to lose them because you can’t lead for toffee. Business owners will buy peoples ideas and creativity not how many hours they work. How much collective talent you have will dictate how competitive you are in the future.

Customer Experience – The relationships with customers will need to be more significant and intense. Getting customers attention is an expensive process, so keeping them makes more sense. They will expect more of an experience as your products/services become less important or different. They will seek out a meaningful relationship with you as the world around us seemingly becomes more superficial, untrustworthy and potentially faceless. Watch as we go back to deep, caring conversations with customers as we reject being told how good companies/brands are.

Technology – It’s not going away and so we can’t ignore how positive it can be. It has changed our processes, systems, marketing, efficiency, production, health and much more. Expect the pace of change to increase in excessive amounts and be prepared for it. No longer can you scoff at such inventions as Google and Twitter. Many small businesses still don’t have an electronic database and then wonder why they are struggling to keep their head above water! Social media will form the most substantial part of your marketing budget as we go more viral and word of mouth makes a huge comeback.

We will get through this immediate crisis even though the pain will be felt for years to come. Perhaps a shake out, rationalisation was overdue? Unfortunately, for some, it’s been a terrifying shock. What is more important though is how business will respond to the permanent, deal breaking changes in human behaviour, expectations and technological advances that will literally mean the difference between survival and growth. There is still going to be fall out, not because of a financial crisis across the world but because business simply failed to change.

An amusing talk given to TED by Carl Honore discussing the principle and benefits of slowing down. Thought provoking and worth 19 minutes of your time.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/carl_honore_praises_slowness.html

I’ve been involved in an interesting process recently that included defining the word entrepreneurship. Fine, it was required. We needed to stick a flag in the mountain and identifying what we meant, but it threw up some fabulous conversations that identified how differently people see words.

Most entrepreneurs wouldn’t define themselves as anything, that’s far too stereotypical, never mind an entrepreneur. We need to be careful about definitions. They change and are very individual. Ones definition of quality might be completely different than another. What is exceptional customer service to one person may be average to another and a definition of what is deemed as creative can get you into deep, very hot, water.

Business and work is becoming more like the art galleries of the world. What’s one mans meat is another mans poison. It’s becoming harder to define what quality is, what originality is, what great is as opposed to just good. One size fits all and assuming that all customers and employees define it in this particular way is surely an ignorant stance. Like the songwriter who wrote the song “A whiter shade of pale” said when asked what it was about; he had no idea, its whatever the listener wants it to be he commented. Defining purpose is important, but people will have different interpretations. We won’t entertain definitions in the future. Be prepared for a world of business and work that sees things in this way, in a very individual way!

Sometimes someone in a short 11 pages or so, puts together a paper that gets you thinking about how business will be in the future, or what your customers will expect. Download the Trust Economies by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith for some interesting points on building trust and how we must influence people in the future.

http://www.changethis.com/44.04.TrustEconomy

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