There is no argument that the web has transformed our life, no argument that it has changed how we conduct and perceive business. We now live in a 24/7 culture with consumers having constant access to review, to interact, to purchase what they want, when they want it.
The trouble is that as consumers we see the incredible value this brings...because it is allowing us to break all the rules, all the constraits that were in place but in business we can be blinded by trying to hold on to the historic rules of commerce. It is time to break the rules and form new ones.
- New technology has always been feared and a desire to block or create a law to stop technology has always been the first call from business. But stop...should we block for the bad behaviours or just address them? I get spam sales calls but I still value the phone.....let's start thinking about rewarding good behaviour and punishing bad rather than assigning the fault at technology's door.
- We still live in a 9 to 5 culture...but that is not how our consumers live....why do we hold on to the hours which were fit for an industrial age?
- Why do we see the need to protect our ideas from being shared...yes there are needs for Intellectual property laws...but not to prevent fair use sharing. Fair use sharing should be seen as consumers marketing for you, not treating them as criminals. As soon as you do that....then you alienate the market who become the target for piracy firms.
- Why do we think that we are the only ones who can have an idea, make the idea and sell the idea....through crowdsourcing, 3D printing and social media, all these things can be done by your consumer with you acting as a faciliator. That reduces overheads and releases capital to spend on innovation...and delights the customer.
- Why build companies which have layers, meetings and hierarchy...yes of course you need some but only to act as filters not blockers.
The world is changing and we can either fight it or embrace it...we can see the opportunity to mirror how the market is starting to work...or we can be so fearful of the lack of control that we slide to being irrelevant.
I am reminded of this little caption....we can avoid it as much as we want, but it won't go away
