Reinvention - Its The New Normal

Reinvention - Its The New Normal Remember the term status quo?  It seems we dont hear it as much as we used to.  Back in Kansas, it meant that things were normal, and you knew what to expect from day to day, month to month, and year to year.  But youre not in Kansas anymore, Toto.   Now, we have to check our smart phones to find out how much our world has changed since last night. In todays world, if you think you can put your personal or business life on autopilot, youre wrong.  Youll be watching as the newest version of the world morphs all around you.  And as a result, you will be left behind. Reinvention The New Normal Theres good news and bad news in this.  The bad news isnt that bad.  Youll have to embrace constant change.  The good news is that there will continue to be a virtual avalanche of opportunities that constantly present themselves. Well all have to adapt to this constant change.  And those who get the best results will be those who change because they choose to do so,  not out of fear or because of the competition.  Get excited about the days ahead, because this is just as much a frontier and adventure as the old west or the final frontier, space. The Pitfalls In their new book Reinvention: Accelerating Results In An Age Of Disruption,  authors Shane Cragun and Kate Sweetman  point out the pitfalls, which they call The Six Deadly Blindfolds.  Theyre paraphrased here: Arrogance: Belief that you know the evolving reality without using current moment feedback. Ignoring Feedback: Receiving current feedback, but dismissing it as irrelevant. Ignoring Competitors Success:  Refusing to learn from the successful results of the competition. Forgetting The Customer:  Forgetting that customer needs and demands will be evolving also. Ignoring Problems: Underestimating the potential risks in system and product flaws. Avoiding the Unavoidable:  Refusal to see trends and projections that spell disaster ahead. How To Successfully Navigate These massive changes need not be the cause of fear.  The same behaviors that have always been the basis of success still apply.  But it will be necessary to make those things business as usual.  The keys, according to Cragun and Sweetman, can be summed up in four measures: Melt Rate.  Is your profession or organization contracting or expanding? Relevance Trend.  Is your product or service becoming more or less relevant to your customers? Adding Value:  Do you continually push yourself or your organization to add more customer value? Internal vs. External Change: Are you or your organization changing at a rate greater or less than your competitors and change in general? Theres much more within the pages of their book, and if you want to get a good handle on where were headed and how to adapt, its a must read. The takeaway: Remain acutely aware, inventive, adaptive, and agile.   Those are the breadcrumbs that will lead to success.  Innovation, creativity, and courage will win the day.   Just as it did on the  frontier. Main image:  Irish Typepad  Space:  Boogeyman13