Focusing On Status Quo Or The Future?

It’s easy to remain committed to the status quo. The business world is littered with brands that perfected the art of preserving the status quo:

• Blockbuster (video)
• Kodak (film)
• Radio Shack (consumer electronics)
• Kmart & Sears (retail)
• Borders & Barnes & Noble (books)

The world passed by the companies identified above.

Companies that preserve and protect the status quo are failing to create a new and better future for customers. Which company is a great example of continually creating a better future for its customers?

• Amazon

Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, is the richest man in the world with a net worth of $105.1 billion as of January 2018. He hasn’t achieved this by being aligned to the status quo.

Let’s consider Michael Dell’s ideas about innovation in a recent CNBC article:

Though Dell is no longer a start-up, Mr. Dell, the namesake CEO, works to maintain a fast-moving, nimble culture.

“If you have a big company, there are a lot of people running around that tell you you can’t do stuff.” -Michael Dell, Dell Technologies founder, CEO and chairman

One way he does that is by emphasizing action over adherence to a hierarchy…

“I think a lot of this — the metaphor or the trend to go to continuous change — feels risky, but it’s the reverse. Not doing it is the risky part,” Dell says.

People lose out on opportunity because they avoid risk too desperately, the tech entrepreneur espouses.

Here are the questions you need to be asking yourself:

• Are you customer-driven? What is the evidence for your response?
• Is your company too wedded to the status quo? Or, is it creating a better future for your customers and employees?
• Is your company innovating constantly to solve problems your customers have yet to identify?
• Where will your company be in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years and beyond? Will your company be vibrant and alive or extinct?

Thought for the week:

“One person with passion is better than 40 people merely interested.” – E. M.Forster