Learn how you can thrive amid today’s global business challenges.
The world that we live in today is changing rapidly thanks to the Internet, as it has brought forward new and much quicker ways to communicate. In fact, we are more connected than we ever have been. However, this is only one of the many things that have drastically changed the way business is done all around the globe.
However, many problems have also come about from the increase in being connected. For instance, today, a regional or a local issue is now able to become into a worldwide problem in essentially a night. How are companies able to get through those tricky waters?
In this text, we will outline how business is done in today’s age and what you are able to do to revolutionize how you play a part in it; rethink every aspect such as staff management, innovation, as well as accountability, to name a few.
You will find out:
- Why a shower footrest is thought of as the climax of innovation;
- How both Google and Apple are able to remain above their competitors;
- How come you don’t need to think about what you’re going to build but rather build how you’re going to think.
In our modern, technological world, leadership and power come with great responsibility.
In the latest decades, people have seen a lot of change, however, this has also caused the risks to change as well. In our quickly changing, globalized work environment, leaders boast much greater power, but also more responsibility than they ever have before.
This means they’ve got so much more to answer for in the instance that something ends up going wrong.
Global leaders have to be aware of the influence that their choices end up having. Even with just one poor decision, an item of food, for instance, may have to be compromised. In addition, in the past, one bad decision may have simply impacted just a little town, whereas today, the health of thousands upon thousands of people could be impacted.
A lot of leaders are already trying to deal with the amplification of fallouts from choices made in our incredibly interconnected and international economic system. At times, they even have to pay up in order to stifle an issue before it ends up getting completely out of hand.
For instance, back in 2011, both the French and the German banks had moved in order to bail out the financial systems in Portugal, Ireland, Greece, as well as Spain. In fact, they ended up spending close to $900 billion in order to try to keep the Euro stable as well as keep a bigger currency crisis from occurring.
Think about the global leaders of today. Do you trust them enough to be able to keep little mistakes from turning into huge, global issues?
The Internet along with other new technologies have turned into very efficient means to push forward a global, conscious feel; it has especially been beneficial with keeping the leaders of the world in check. It’s hard to keep wrongdoings a secret for long as new stories move through the world at an incredibly fast pace. Therefore, the pressure to make change as well as boost social responsibility is so much bigger.
Back in 2008, Coca-Cola had gotten into some trouble for using unsustainable methods in order to extract water from places in India that had been struck by drought. When the news went viral, their sales had decreased immensely all around the globe. The CEO at the time then stated that by 2020, Coca-Cola would be “water neutral”.
However, as a global society, we can’t depend on either government or private sector policies anymore as the main method of damage control. Keep on reading to find out what kind of change actually needs to occur.
Without ethics, we have nothing. It’s time to treat people not as consumers but as human beings.
Have you made any mistakes today? Have you ever forgotten to do something that you said that you’d do or even neglect to notice something that you should’ve actually noticed?
People make mistakes; the same goes with policy makers, bankers, as well as those working in the government because all of us are human! In addition, us humans are always trying to make justifications to what we do that way we seem ethical; it doesn’t matter how much power, money, or responsibility we have.
Back in 2008, the economic crisis didn’t only revolve around money. It also dealt with both moral and ethical problems. Global bankers had been dishonest, arrogant, greedy, as well as in denial. Those that had been working in the industry or working with the industry ended up tying themselves up in morally questionable practices.
Mortgage lenders were approving loans to those without a job, an income, or any assets. Those bankers on Wall Street had put all of those faulty loans into securities which were then sold as solid investments. Investors were able to convince their clients that those products were guaranteed returns much higher than what was averaged. The ratings agencies had wanted new business really bad which is how their objectivity ended up being compromised.
So, how were so many people able to get everything so wrong?
Capitalism revolves around the idea that it offers unimaginable privileges. However, in the case that the capitalistic system is backed by or guided by moral principles, everyone ends up being the loser. We have to come up with a way to do business so that our natural resources won’t get exhausted while also understanding that people aren’t simply consumers- first and foremost, they are humans.
So, how are we able to make change?
If a company wants to survive, it must be able to adapt. Kill your bureaucratic structures!
Today’s big and successful businesses are having a hard time keeping up. Bureaucracy along with its principles of both discipline and stability aren’t able to keep a company up and running any longer due to the constantly changing, overly competitive market.
In addition, there’s a continuous increase in the calls for social accountability, causing businesses to be faced with challenges that they’ve never had to face before.
Therefore, how are successful businesses able to adapt?
First things first, now’s the time to get rid of your business’s top-down, bureaucratic organizational structure. In fact, a lot of CEOs and managers will be the first to tell you that they help promote personal growth, diversity, mentoring, as well as empower staff.
In actuality, though, you aren’t able to get any of that if you continue to follow bureaucratic methods.
This is seen especially in companies that start off creative and innovative, but then change as soon as they are successful. They try to protect the success that they’ve gained and, instead of trying to challenge the status quo, they begin to defend it. This is the best way for market decline.
Take, for instance, Samsung. Even though they’ve got a multimillion-dollar research budget along with a huge and talented group of staff, this technology giant still hasn’t been able to garner the top LCD television brand position in the states.
Vizio, on the other hand, has been able to, despite being a business with fewer than 200 staff and pay attention to buying flat-screen suppliers that are based in Asia. In addition, they hold around $2.5 billion in sales. So, the lesson here is that regardless of how big the name of your brand is, a solid brand isn’t able to always beat a really smart business model!
You’ll have a much greater chance of succeeding if you promote innovation in your workspace. How are you able to do it? The secret lies in constantly encouraging crazy ideas and get people to constantly talk. The greater the number of ideas, the better. As a result, you won’t waste time thinking about “what to build”, but rather you’ll “build to think”.
You don’t have to innovate big to change the game - just please your clients.
The buzzword of today is definitely innovation. However, what does it really mean to be innovative?
It does not revolve around putting all of your resources into one project that you believe will be the big game-changer. In reality, innovation that’s effective revolves around pinpointing the little details that will make your clients satisfied as well as keep them that way, too.
Since open markets promote intense competition, companies aren’t left with much opportunity to create something entirely different from your rivals. However, what if you were able to turn an inexpensive item that’s in a crowded market into an experience that’s greatly valued. This is exactly what Virgin America had done. Despite the fact that domestic air travel is quite a competitive market, every since Virgin had launched in 2007, they have continuously been voted as the best in America.
How were they able to do it? Easy; they just stayed attentive of all of the small things that made their customers satisfied. They provide customers with comfy seats, touch screens that way they can order healthy food straight from their seat, nice music in the bathrooms, as well as Wi-Fi on each flight. They even boast a flight crew that’s fun and full of energy.
Virgin shows how innovation doesn’t always revolve around coming up with something out of this world or brilliant. Instead, you can also be innovative by constantly being in tune with the needs and wants of your customers.
However, how are you able to deal with implicit needs if you aren’t aware of what they are? This is when innovation comes in handy. With your team, brainstorm to come up with some creative solutions that are able to make the small details into pieces of an overall noteworthy experience.
Take, for instance, this innovation: a triangle-shaped shelf that’s around 20 inches from the floor in the corner of a shower in a hotel. Why is it helpful? It makes it easier for women to shave their legs as they have a place to put her foot. That kind of innovation is so cheap and yet it is incredibly effective when it comes to making a positive and lifelong impression for your customers.
Learning from the bottom-up keeps your company agile and revolutionary.
If you believe that a CEO on their own should be the leader and the controller of a company, then we think that you should rethink your mentality.
Now’s the time to understand that values are made via staff and customers.
Take, for instance, both Apple and Google. They are the top in their fields, but how did they get there in the first place? They were able to do so my combining their main business values with a new way of thinking.
They have both been able to create natural and flexible hierarchies where status is defined based on the amount of work you put into the company versus the position that you hold. This encourages staff to innovate on both a professional and a personal level.
Google has especially been good at learning at the start, at a low cost, and in very little time. Via simulations, role-playing, as well as cost-effective mock-ups, customers are able to try out ideas in their initial stages that way Google can get real-time feedback. As a result, they automatically get a competitive edge.
It is true that a few of today’s companies that have seen the most success are fairly young and have been revolutionary from the beginning. However, what’s most important is that they have remained at the top of the game.
So, how are you able to ensure that you are competitive as well as will remain competitive?
At first, you need to continuously challenge the status quo. This mentality will provide you with access to an entire range of new customers. For instance, only ten years ago, when you played video games, you’d only do so on your couch. However, Nintendo Wii has entirely altered the game.
Next, you need to make diverse work teams that consist of staff with different ages, genders, cultures, skills, as well as experience in the industry. If you are able to, you will get access to various kinds of customers, providing you with much better insight into new market segments.
Lastly, don’t forget to keep your ego in check. Don’t be afraid to ask your employees or contemplate various opinions if a very important decision awaits you. You may be surprised to learn about the blind spots which you weren’t even aware of in the first place.
Embrace the expectations of the Facebook generation: passion, recognition and creativity.
There isn’t anything in our history that would’ve been able to get us ready for the alarming pace of change that defines the business environment today.
The Industrial Revolution of the mid 1800s helped create the business models that we use today, which expect both obedience and discipline. We have needed quite a bit of time in order to steer clear of that mentality.
We don’t need elites anymore to establish either the attitude or the path of discussion. On the contrary, people from all over the globe can arrange on their own online. Therefore, the workspace should also be revolutionized.
So, what exactly can the Internet teach us in the working world? In the case of the Internet, authority comes from the bottom. People end up becoming influential depending on both the acceptance and the respect that they get from other people.
If you put out a video on YouTube that you made yourself, it can be watched all over the world in seconds and yet not a single person would even think about asking you if you went to film school. In addition, both bloggers and Facebook users now take advantage of the access they’ve got to people, businesses, and governments. This access used to be prohibited or just simply wasn’t feasible around ten years ago.
We are seeing a change in how we think about both transparency and the reward systems. People aren’t propelled by money anymore. Instead, they seek both recognition and accomplishment and view them as forms of currency as well.
So, how did we get here. It comes from the fact that us humans are quite passionate on the inside. This can be proven if you provide a person with an open space where they are able to develop their talents as well as let their creativity develop.
Take, for instance, how much time people all around the globe have put into editing Wikipedia articles, creating free apps, and writing advice blogs, all simply to feel both recognized and appreciated.
This is the type of passion that we need to create in the workspace.