Gibsonia Gazette

Six Years Is Like The Blink Of An Eye January 22, 2011

I recently heard the story of Fernando Araujo, the Foreign Minister of Columbia.  Araujo was captured by Marxist rebels about ten years ago and held captive until December 31 of 2006.  He spent those six years, in captivity, being shuffled from one camp to another on a remote mountain range.  He escaped when his captor’s attention was diverted by military helicopters overhead.  In 2007 he told his story on National Public Radio.

When the Columbian police and military rescued him, he noticed that many of them were doing something he had never seen.  They were taking his picture using their cell phones.  Araujo had never seen a cell phone camera, an IPod, or Google Earth, just to name a few things that came to be during his six years in captivity.  It was a new and changed world for him.

If you think about it, the changes we are seeing technologically are happening at a faster and faster pace.  Compare the first IPod of just a few years ago with a newer model that is just over the size of a silver dollar.  If you bought a computer just three years ago and are ready to upgrade to a new one, you’ll get more computer for less money, not to mention the power of the iPad and newer iPhones.  Just think about all the wireless connectivity you have in your car.  Oh, and did we mention the onslaught of social media?   And perhaps most amazing, automobiles that park themselves!

The speed with which the world is changing is especially important in business.  There is no such thing as “business as usual”.  If you don’t think the way business is done is changing just compare the time it takes to buy an airline ticket via the telephone and the internet.  It was not long ago that airlines actually had retail locations in downtown areas of major cities where people could walk in and purchase a ticket from a human being.

If you are forward thinking, then you are doing everything you can to stay ahead of the technological curve.  That means paying attention to what’s happening technologically in the world and how that will affect your industry.

The difference between you and Fernando Araujo is that you can only be held captive by your own preconceived notions of how business is done in your industry.  Another difference is that he had no choice, however, you do.  You can chose to put blinders on and hope for the best, or you can chose to move forward integrating new technologies and management methods.  What you don’t have is six years to ponder your decision.

The future is already here, and if you aren’t changing, you’re falling behind.  Don’t wait for the alarm bells to go off telling you that your business is starting to decline.  There is a saying that the best time to look for a job is when you have one.  Well, the best time to proactively plan for change is when business is good.