Are you prepared for the coming shift in the economy that business futurists are predicting. Below are some tips from Scott Hamilton of Blue Velocity Partners. Join Scott and Henry DeVries for a free teleclass at 5 pm Pacific Time Tuesday October 9 by calling 712-945-1601 and then pin # 968996#.
Did you see this in the news? More than 100 homes in the upscale San Diego community of La Jolla were evacuated after a landslide about 60 yards wide pulled the earth from beneath a three-lane road and some of the multimillion-dollar homes that adorn it.
The Mayor of San Diego declared a state of emergency, asking California and the federal government to help the La Jolla community recover from the landslide.
Was this a surprise? No, cracks had appeared in the road for months. Officials warned for at least two weeks that the ground was shifting beneath the hillside community along Soledad Mountain Road.
How does this apply to your business? Please know this, there are serious cracks showing in the U.S. economy. A shift is about to happen in the world of business. You need to be able to make some hard decisions in the coming months.
According to futurist Joel Barker, it is a “leader’s responsibility to take care of the future.” Joel Barker was the first person to popularize the concept of paradigm shifts for the business world. He discovered that the concept of paradigms, which at that time was sequestered within the scientific discussion, could explain revolutionary change in all areas of human endeavor.
Barker says people shoot down good ideas because they assume that the future is merely an extension of the past. Many things we accept today once met substantial resistance from thoughtful people.
People resist change when they operate within old paradigms. These paradigms establish boundaries and provide the rules for success.
People tend to filter out information that doesn't fit the paradigm. Barker calls this the “Paradigm Effect.” This can block creative solutions to problems and the ability to see the future.
To illustrate, Barker tells stories of triumph and disaster resulting from paradigms. Here's one:
Question: What nation dominated the world of watch-making in 1968?
Answer: Switzerland, a country renowned for over a hundred years for watch-making excellence. In 1968, it held 65 per cent of the market.
Question: What nation dominates watch-making today?
Answer: Japan, a nation which, in 1968, held virtually no market share.
Reason: The introduction of the quartz watch.
Question: Who invented the quartz watch?
Answer: The Swiss. The Swiss were so certain that it was only a novelty, they showed it promiscuously at a trade show.
The Japanese came; they saw the idea; they conquered the market. The Swiss failed to see the potential because they had a financial and emotional investment in the old paradigm.
Barker says: “When a paradigm shifts, everybody goes back to zero. It doesn't matter how strong your reputation, or how big your market share, or how good you are at the old paradigm.”
Barker makes these key observations about paradigms:
1. Paradigms are common. They apply to all areas of our lives.
2. Paradigms are useful. They show us what is important.
3. A warning: Sometimes paradigms become THE paradigm — the only way to do something. Thereafter, any new idea is rejected out of hand. Barker calls this “paradigm paralysis.” It’s a terminal disease that has destroyed many a mammoth.
4. The people who create new paradigms are usually outsiders. They are not part of the established paradigm community. They need not be young, but they are people who are not invested in the old paradigm.
5. The paradigm pioneers must be courageous.
6. You can choose to change paradigms — to see the world anew.
Want to learn more? Then attend the teleclass on October 9 for free or attend this $35 workshop with Scott Hamilton October 12 in Irvine, CA:
Forecasting the Future—Joel Barker’s Strategic Exploration Business Tools
October 12, 2007
Irvine, CA
8:30am-12noon
Continental Breakfast Served
How to:
—Reduce uncertainty in your plans
—Improve the Accuracy of your Forecasts
—Achieve Consistently Better Results
Presenting the Implications Wheel® and the Strategy Matrix ® (Bonus presentation of John Kotter’s workshop—Leading Bold Change based on his bestselling business book Our Iceberg Is Melting is included.)
Key learning points addressed in this session include:
Learn how to reduce uncertainty, out-innovate and out-maneuver the competition by forecasting the implications of your decisions before they occur.
Powerful software allows you to rapidly identify positive and negative potential outcomes—even identify sources of stakeholder conflict
The Strategy Matrix uncovers the intended impacts that exist in all strategic plans
Forecasts the effect of your strategy or a competitor's innovation on your plans
Identify and remove obstacles that prevent people from taking action
You will identify additional forces that will increase or decrease the likelihood of being able to achieve true change
To Register For This Event:
The registration fee is $35 and includes continental breakfast and a catered lunch.
Click here to pay with Visa, Mastercard or American Express.
Or call toll free at (888) 857-9722.
Session held near the John Wayne Airport in Irvine, CA.
2091 Business Center Drive, Suite 230, Irvine 92612
Chris and Henry are both members of Blue Velocity Partners, a regional team of senior level consultants whose mission is to help organizations move into new spaces, take on tough decisions and navigate change. While we recognize the importance of great strategy, this is to no avail if the window of opportunity closes or the execution is flawed.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment