Our planet is undergoing rapid change. We are now more linked than ever thanks to the internet, which has created new and increasingly quicker communication channels. This fact is only one of several that have drastically altered how business is conducted worldwide.
However, the greater connection has also brought up other problems. What was once a provincial or local issue may become a global disaster. How does a company negotiate these dangerous waters?
These chapters explain how business is now conducted and what you can do to completely transform your involvement by reevaluating everything from staff management to innovation to responsibility and more.
These chapters will show you
- how a footrest for the shower may be regarded as the pinnacle of the invention;
- how Google and Apple maintain a competitive edge;
- why you should create how to think instead of what to construct.
Chapter 1 – In today’s technologically advanced society, positions of leadership and authority carry a lot of responsibility.
The stakes have increased due to the significant transformation that has occurred in recent decades. Leaders now have much more authority and responsibility than ever before in our fast-paced, globally integrated environment.
If something goes wrong, you’ll have much more to account for.
Global leaders must be aware of the effects of their choices. A faulty judgment could, for instance, result in a tainted food item. However, when formerly such an error would have only had an impact on a small town, today the health of hundreds of thousands of people may be in jeopardy.
Many leaders are already considering how a linked, global economic system may magnify the effects of a choice. Paying a price occasionally is required to stop a mistake before it gets out of hand.
For instance, in 2011, French and German banks spent about $900 billion to rescue the financial systems of Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Spain to preserve the integrity of the euro and avert a worsening currency crisis.
Think about the world leaders of today. Do you have faith in them to prevent little errors from becoming major tragedies?
The internet and other modern technologies have developed into powerful instruments for promoting a sense of global consciousness and, more significantly, for reining in global leaders. Injustices are more difficult to ignore since news quickly spreads throughout the globe. As a result, there is much more pressure to bring about change and foster more social responsibility.
Coca-Cola faced criticism in 2008 for taking water from an Indian region that was experiencing a drought using unsustainable ways. Coke sales decreased globally as the word spread. By 2020, the corporation will become “water neutral,” according to the then-announcement. CEO’s
However, as a global society, we can no longer just rely on public or private sector policies for damage management. Discover what kind of transformation is required by reading on.
Chapter 2 – We are left with nothing if ethics are absent. People need to be treated more like humans and less like customers.
Did you commit an error today? forget to follow through on a commitment or ignore something you should have noticed?
Since we are all fallible beings, so do bankers, policymakers, and even those in government. No matter how much authority, wealth, or responsibility we may have, individuals also tend to defend their acts to look moral.
The 2008 financial crisis dealt with moral and ethical concerns in addition to financial ones. Among the world’s bankers, dishonesty, haughtiness, avarice, and denial were commonplace. People involved in the industry or working with it become entangled in a web of unethical behaviors.
Mortgage lenders offered loans to borrowers who had no income, assets, or jobs. Wall Street bankers combined these bad loans into securities that were offered as reliable investments. Investors persuaded their clients that these products would provide profits above the norm. Additionally, rating organizations’ neutrality was weakened by their intense need for fresh business.
So how is it that so many people are misinformed?
The ideology of capitalism bestows enormous benefits. However, everyone loses if the capitalist system isn’t founded on or guided by moral ideals. We require a method of conducting business that doesn’t deplete our natural resources and recognizes individuals as more than simply customers.
So how do we bring about change? The next chapters will describe how.
Chapter 3 – A business needs to be adaptable if it is to survive. Get rid of your bureaucratic frameworks!
Today’s large, prosperous businesses are finding it difficult to stay up. In a market that is undergoing fast change and intense competition, bureaucracy and its guiding principles of order and stability are no longer sufficient to keep a corporation viable.
A dilemma, unlike anything businesses, has ever encountered arises when you combine these factors with the growing demands for social accountability.
So how can a growing business adjust?
First, it’s time to get rid of your organization’s hierarchical, bureaucratic structure. Yes, a lot of CEOs and managers will tell you that they value diversity, mentorship, and employee empowerment.
But in practice, if bureaucratic procedures continue to be the norm, none of this will be possible.
This is seen in the way successful businesses that were at first inventive and creative transformed. These businesses start supporting the current quo rather than changing it because they want to safeguard their success! This recipe for the market downturn is ideal.
Here’s only one illustration. Samsung is still not the top LCD television brand in the US, despite having a multimillion-dollar research budget and a large staff of talented workers.
Vizio, on the other hand, is a business with less than 200 people that focuses on acquiring flat-screen suppliers in Asia. Vizio claims to have sold almost $2.5 billion worth of merchandise. The lesson here? No matter how well-known your brand is, a brilliant business plan will always beat out a fantastic brand!
Your best chance of success is to promote innovation at work. Why do you do this? The trick is to continuously promote unconventional thinking and keep conversations going. The more thoughts, the better. By doing so, you save time by not having to consider “what to construct.” You’ll “build to think” instead!
Chapter 4 – You don’t need to make a significant innovation to alter the game—just satisfy your customers.
The vogue today is innovation. But what does it mean to be innovative mean?
It’s not about devoting all of your resources to a single endeavor that you hope will fundamentally alter the course of history. Finding the little things that keep your customers happy and satisfied themselves is the key to good innovation.
The window of opportunity to create something unique from your rivals is pretty narrow since free markets foster robust rivalry.
What if, though, you were able to transform a cheap commodity in a competitive market into a highly prized experience? This was done by Virgin America. Domestic air travel has a lot of competition, yet since Virgin’s inception in 2007, the airline has routinely received votes for being the finest in the country.
How did the business manage it? Simple: by continuing to pay attention to the small details that delight clients. Virgin has cozy seats, touch screens that let you order nutritious food right from your seat, nice music in the restrooms, Wi-Fi on every trip, and happy, upbeat flight staff.
Virgin serves as an example of how being continually aware of a customer’s underlying requirements and wants can be just as innovative as coming up with something ground-breaking or even brilliant.
But if you don’t know what they are, how can you address unspoken needs? Here’s when creativity comes into play. With the help of your personnel, brainstorm innovative ways to make little things become essential components of a memorable experience.
Think about this ingenuity: a triangle shelf that is 20 inches from the ground in a hotel bathroom corner. What for? To rest her foot while shaving her legs, a lady has a spot to do so. This type of innovation is essentially free yet is quite effective at leaving your clients with a favorable and lasting impression.
Chapter 5 – Staying innovative and nimble requires learning from the ground up.
It’s time to alter your perspective if you believe that the CEO should act as the only commander and controller of the organization.
It’s time to acknowledge that consumers and workers build values.
Consider Google and Apple, two businesses that are leaders in their respective industries. How did the businesses arrive where they are today? by fusing fresh thought with fundamental business principles.
Both businesses have established organic, fluid hierarchies in which contributions, as opposed to positions held, define status. People are inspired to innovate as a result, both professionally and individually.
Particularly Google has been successful at learning swiftly, affordably, and early on. Customers may participate with early-stage ideas to provide Google with real-time feedback through simulations, role-playing, and affordable mockups. This immediately offers the business a competitive advantage.
It’s true that some of the most prosperous businesses today are young and have been groundbreakers from the beginning. But what counts is that these businesses have remained competitive.
How do you ensure that you are and remain competitive then?
To start, you must consistently question the current quo. You will have access to a wide spectrum of new customers with this mindset. For instance, a decade ago, playing video games meant lounging on the sofa. However, the Nintendo Wii dramatically altered everything!
Second, you must assemble diverse teams of workers with a range of ages, genders, ethnicities, talents, and professional experiences. If you do, you’ll have access to various clientele and gain a lot more knowledge about brand-new business niches.
Finally, bear in mind to control your ego. If you’re facing a difficult decision, don’t be afraid to consult the employees or take into account alternative viewpoints. The blind spots you didn’t even realize you have could astound you!
Chapter 6 – Accept the Facebook generation’s demands of enthusiasm, recognition, and inventiveness.
Nothing in our past could have adequately prepared us for the rapid rate of change prevailing in today’s business environment.
Our present corporate models, in which obedience and discipline are demanded, were developed during the Industrial Revolution in the middle of the nineteenth century. We have struggled mightily to change our way of thinking.
Elites are no longer required to direct the conversation’s tone or topic. Instead, individuals from all around the world may freely organize online. Therefore, it is necessary to transform the workplace as well!
What therefore may the internet impart to the workplace? On the internet, power comes from the bottom up. Influence grows as a result of others’ approval and regard for a person.
Whether you upload a self-made video on YouTube, it may be seen by millions of people in a matter of seconds, and nobody would ever wonder if you attended film school. Additionally, bloggers and Facebook users are now emboldened by the access they have to people, businesses, and governments, access that was before illegal or simply not available.
Transparency and incentive structures are altering the way we think about them. Nowadays, people are motivated by more than simply money; they also value success and recognition.
So how did we get here? People are, in fact, inherently passionate. If you merely offer someone a blank canvas where they can cultivate their skills and let their imagination soar, you’ll see this.
Consider the number of effort individuals has devoted to revising Wikipedia articles, creating free applications, or writing advice blogs merely to feel appreciated and recognized.
And it’s this type of passion that should be encouraged at work!
What Matters Now: How to Win in a World of Relentless Change, Ferocious Competition, and Unstoppable Innovation by Gary Hamel Book Review
Companies frequently struggle to remain ahead in a society that is changing quickly and becoming more responsible. However, you may be sure of success even in an unpredictable environment if you understand that enthusiasm, invention, originality, and adaptability are what count most.
