How often have I said that? But it’s true and the pace of change for all of us in so many ways is certainly not slowing down so we all need to keep learning. Change is happening faster now than at any time in my working life and if we want to succeed in business, we must embrace that change. You certainly cannot fight it. Either you continue to learn and develop, or you will fall by the wayside. You will still manage to eke out a living, but it will get harder with each passing day.
The only constant is change. It is here to stay. Get used to it.
I recall several years ago, a conversation I had with someone who used technology in their business. He said that as technology had progressed so far and so fast that it would now inevitably plateau. Then we installed Windows 95.
It has not plateaued. It has not slowed. It sometimes feels like we are riding a large horse galloping down a long beach in the early morning sunshine, but all we can think about on this beautiful day is whether we can hold on and stay in the saddle.
So, where do we see change? Firstly, there is the technology. New equipment, new software, and new opportunities on the internet. Every aspect of our business has been transformed over the last few years. We now work more efficiently, faster and more collaboratively than ever before. Internet speeds, online portals and services like Zoom or Teams have all had an impact. Every desk that I use now has a microphone and a webcam. My home office now has a boom microphone that hangs just above my laptop all the time just waiting for when it might be needed.
Secondly, there are all the new skills that are needed. Some of you will remember the monthly paper newsletter that we used to post out. We did it for 12 years. We posted around 2500 every month. Now, it’s all digital. I write various pieces of content and my girl Friday, Lauren at Adder Business, posts it all through the internet either by email or on Facebook etc. Dropbox is invaluable for transferring content. I upload 8 files of various sizes every week to Dropbox for Lauren to access and process.
But there is also now a weekly presentation. It is recorded on my phone from wherever I happen to be on that day. Now, if you really want to push your comfort zone, watch the replay of a video of yourself. Done that, and I am now getting more comfortable, just wish I could do something about the grey hairs and the wrinkles. Such is life!
Even here, things are evolving. I recently installed an App on my phone that allows me to upload a script to a website and then I can send it online to my phone which now acts as a teleprompter. Yet more new technology to find, learn and use. Just working on the new gimbal that I bought but not quite there yet.
Whether you are in agriculture, retail, hospitality or any business, your world is changing. It is changing the way you operate but it is also changing the market in which you operate. New markets are opening up and new ways of selling into that market. So, you see, there is no escape.
Change is in every aspect of our lives. But for us, at the end of the day, it is all about attitude. Change is here. It may seem faster than ever, but it has always been here. It is about your reaction to that change and as we all know, attitude is such an important part of any business.
What’s the answer? Just remember that every day is a school day. You think you have left school, but you haven’t. There is something new for you to learn every day.
You may take the view that you don’t need to embrace the changes happening around you. You may feel that your business is doing fine without all that “stuff”. That’s fine but business is all about challenges and so, you need to be willing to challenge yourself. And so, we come back to attitude.
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Alan E Long
The Long Partnership
07770 738770
