The discussion ended when I mentioned that you can choose to ignore or deny it and continue with what she has been doing or you can acknowledge it and do something about it. Should it become a reality, you will be caught if you think the former or you will be prepared if you think of the latter. Question is, sometimes, not whether the matter will become a reality but the fact that you have such a mindset, you will always be one step ahead of the competition.
The truth is many of us are like this teacher sometimes. We sometimes know that if we continue doing what we have been doing, we will become irrelevant one day. But because circumstances have yet forced us to look squarely at it, we choose to ignore it. Let's cross the bridge when we come to it, as now there are just too many variables. However, when the worst happens, we are caught and hence react to it in ways that may not be the best of. Also, when we react to any situation, we are more often than not being at the mercy of it. Of course, some will cry out saying, why me? Others may learn from this painful episode and gain an invaluable lesson for life.
Otherwise, we can be proactive and say, well if we continue doing what we have been doing we will be irrelevant, so let us find a way to circumvent this. Let's see what we can do now so that we can become prepared for the event should it happen. Here's where we know, to a certain extent, the damage or risk involved and hence doing something about it now. That's being proactive and taking the initiative to change the way we do things so that we can remain relevant. Thing is, by being just proactive we can also sometime be caught. Because the risk could take a different form and no matter how much you prepare yourself for, the events that take place result in a complete shift of focus. You did not anticipate that something could happen that no matter what you did to prepare yourself for becomes irrelevant! Many of us have seen industries disappear almost overnight. And no matter what the companies did, it did not matter anymore because new things have happened.
Which leads us to be being anticipative. To do that, you will need to be able to anticipate possible changes that will have an impact on what you do. So, apart from being proactive and sighting what might take place, you will also need to anticipate all the various possibilities about other situations. Maybe machines will replace you, or maybe not but machines will take away the lower value added portion of your service so you will need to think of ways to hone your skills on higher value added services. So you look at what's happening in your industry but in more developed countries or what are other industries doing to cope with these changes. By doing so, you will be able to come up with various scenarios that you can prepare yourself for. Now, this is hard work as it could mean endless things you will need to do in order to prepare or it could mean you have to deal with all the underlying uncertainties, which most people are not comfortable to deal with. There are just too many variables and soon you become overwhelmed and hence result in a lack of focus where you attempt to do too many things at the same time. We all know when you spread yourself too thing, you become more susceptible to vulnerabilities.
So then, what could you do to remain relevant? I believe, when you are able to develop the skill set to formulate creative strategies, that's when you can be assured of being relevant. Think about just 20 years back. There was no demand for mobile phones and the reason was because we did not even know we needed one! Then zoom forward to 2007; how many of us feel like we are one limp short when we forgot our mobile phone or whenever the network breaks down? Between just 2 decades, mobile phone companies have successfully created the need for one. Yes, it has to do with the change in our lifestyle as we become more mobile instead of being at one place all the time, there is now a need for mobile phones. And because of the availability of this equipment, it has made it more possible for people to be mobile, hence reinforcing the need for one. Of course with the platform, companies now can create more higher value added service and thus making the mobile phone a commodity and raising it's value by appending these higher value added services to it.
Now, how does one become creative or adopt a creative mindset that allows you to formulate creative and not just proactive or anticipative mindsets? If we look at all the people who are creative in all industries, they all have one common trait that runs across. And this trait is nothing more than adopting a perspective that others don't. What I mean by that is this. When you look at iPod and the its creator, Steve Jobs, you see someone who is able to successful understand how people want their needs fulfilled. What are the ways that they have been fulfilling those needs and asking what other ways can those needs be fulfilled. If there aren't any right now; then its simple. But if there are many different ways of fulfilling those needs then you ought to find a way to create a way to fulfill the same need but in a different manner that will make people want to switch. If for example, the ideas that most people have about relaxing during weekends include catching a movie, going to the park or beach, doing some exercises, getting a massage, chilling out with a group of friends over beer, dancing the night away, or maybe just spending time with family and loved ones.
Now, how Ikea did it different is by creating an environment where going to a furniture mall is a family affair. The kids can enjoy themselves at the playroom, while mom and dad can take their time to explore ideas provided by the showroom items to furnish their place. What's more amazing is, they can actually see and touch the many items on display which helps them visualise how it will be like if they've got the same fixtures at home. Mix and match ideas are also provided so that you can buy a matching cabinet to go with your sofa. What's more interesting is the items are often inexpensive and fun to put together too. Which can also serve as a do-it-together family thing. Then when you are done shopping, you can dine at the cafe where you can also pick up some of these food items on your way out. Never has a privately-held company achieve this level of success before. And to see that reality of providing more than 20,000 items at an inexpensive price requires you to have access to thousands of suppliers worldwide which can then provide the items quickly and in a cost-effective manner.
Of course being in a position like Ikea offers you tremendous advantage, as competition will find it hard to beat. To date, no serious competitor is in sight. Also it offers you unprecedented ways to woo your customers over and over again. Ikea items are not made to last, and that is fine as they are rather inexpensive and besides when you change a sofa, it gives your place a new look and possibly a conversational piece!
So as an individual, how do you formulate creative strategies that allows you to be in the fore front and also gives you the advantage that your peers can only dream of? I believe the secret is this. To be creative, you need to be open. And to be open, it means you must be willing to look at things from various perspectives. Go beyond the usual perspective of yours and the customers, and look at it from your competitors, your non customers, your suppliers, your partners, the people in the environment you are operating in, and so on. It is important that you look from these various perspectives so that the challenge can be viewed from various angles and not just a biased point of view. Sometimes the most unattached perspectives can provide you with a solution where you were previously blinded. Once you have adopted this ability to see things from various perspectives you can be creative. However the next part will require you to take concrete actions to move forward. And then at each step of the way, you gather feedback to see what's working and what's not and you change accordingly. Remember that once you keep your eye on the big picture (of why you want to be creative), the little things don't matter as much. So go on, be creative, be playful, have fun, test the ways possible and move on.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment