THE SHIFT-AGE: OPPORTUNITY OR THREAT…IT’S YOUR CHOICE
threatening economic viability
Webinar synopsis based on content the E book: Secure Corporate Viability by Creating *Transferable Wealth and Wisdom: how to make your company more profitable and valuable *a company not dependent on the CEO or any individual
The webinar was delivered in three segments: #1 An emerging perfect storm: Economic viability of many SMBs will be threatened , #2 The shift-age adapted culture: Built on a foundation of Inspirational leadership, #3 The shift-age adapted culture: Managed by process-discipline not position authority . Following is part A of the first segment
by LSI publisher Art McNeil
An emerging perfect storm threatens the viability of non adapted small to midsize businesses
Storm front A:
We have entered what futurist David Houle calls, the “SHIFT AGE”. He suggests that the next twenty years will be, “a transformation regarded by future historians as one of the most significant periods in human history.” This quote reminded me of the old Chinese curse, may you be born in interesting times.
Many businesses are haunted by profit inhibiting ghosts—remnants of the industrial age. Decisions are often unknowingly based on outdated assumptions, attitudes, and behavioral patterns. My work branded me as, “The Corporate Exorcist”. The title, although adequately descriptive, did not win favor with executives who were faint of heart. The most damaging aspect of industrial age thinking is its over-reliance on knowledge and experience.
In the shift age knowledge can be a liability. Those who consider themselves “in the know” are slow to learn and let go. Adapted companies have made a 180 degree mindset shift to an attitude of not knowing—replacing their reliance on experience and knowledge with processes for finding out and taking action faster than the competition.
CEOs often complain that the new batch of employees (millennials in their twenties) lack desire and come with a poor work ethic. More likely, they are inhibited by the company’s industrial age culture where they are being supervised by position power rather than process-discipline. Millenials would rather follow a process than be directed by authority figures telling them what to do. They prefer to google rather than rely on experts ( many of whom are out of touch with shift age realities). Experienced managers and employees were either raised during the industrial age or mentored by people who were. That leaves everybody vulnerable. The mantra of millenials might well be, “ In God we trust…everybody else bring current data”.
Stay tuned for Storm front B
preview: As baby boomer business owners retire 70 % of Americas SMBs will change hands. There will be a glut of businesses for sale. Many owners be forced to close their doors and walk away–letting all their hard work go down the drain and leaving employees out of work.
This post sponsored by a complimentary download of the ebook mentioned above