We live in a world where tomorrow is...well, it's so, well... yesterday in terms of the world of business and social marketing!
The business world is dynamic....except for businesses themselves...let me explain.
We live in a real time world, our consumers, our employees all live in a world of real time data feeding through their laptops, their smartphones...their tablet PC's.
They want a complex combination of quality (a given!) , specificity (another given!), no risk (they read the reviews) and instant (or next day delivery).
Wow...phew...impossible right? Yes, of course it is if we go at the pace of a decade ago...
The world is dynamic now......dynamic in terms of days, hours, minutes, seconds....dymamic is the new time zone!!
Ok so then we turn to business...and what do we see - is business as dynamic as the marketplace?
- Organisational charts and organisational structures which add layers of sign off and for each sign off probably adds a further week or month, the meeting calendar will dictate....
- Meetings to discuss what kind of meeting we should hold and who should be there...and what we should talk about....
- Meetings to brainstorm....in reality a collection of post it notes to show leadership is listening...but action? Oh must have a meeting to decide...
- Return on investment calculations demanded before we try a little pilot....so much store (and I am an accountant by trade!) put on a document which is all ifs and buts!! It is a guess...and as long as the guess fits the criteria...well we can have a meeting to sign it off
- 27,876 reasons why something won't work...rather than 1 little pilot to see if it does....
- A meeting to discuss the next line extension as we need to deliver growth...therefore choosing a plan which will cannibalise your sales rather than innovate to grow....safe plodding rather than creative dynamism.
We need to build into our business DNA, a culture of dynamism.....look for people who are dynamic...I don't mean super employees who wear their underwear on the outside...but S.U.P.E.R as in
Seekers and ideas catchers that read, see, listen, learn from anywhere...and then
Unite what they learn with people around you, sharing and collaborating across functions
Prepared to accept the risk and take responsility, knowing you will cheer a known failure just not an unknown success.
Enjoy speed...knowing you can revise once it is out there...with the help of the customer's feedback...which of course you are getting because you are a SEEKER who enjoys improving it....as this is learning not criticism
Refuse to hold meetings which are political rather than dynamic...the onus being on angels advocate not devils advocate
What are you not putting off until tomorrow that you can do today?
What are you putting off for a couple of hours that you can do now?
What are you waiting for?
