The world can be unpredictable. The turn of events in 2020 reminded people so violently about this truth. What type of thinking can help us weather storms, survive technological advancement, and remain relevant? Do you think about 25 years from now or are you only concerned with the immediate future? Some have understood how to think long-term and here is what we can learn from them.
Advance a Cause
There’s a conversation that springs up on Twitter time and time again. It goes like this; Apple will not be a dominant player if they don’t keep up with the competition. In one particular tweet, the concern was if the iPhone doesn’t transition to the flip and foldable phone market it will be left behind.
Benchmarking competitors and being obsessed with beating them is how some play the game. This is a short-term strategy that can only get you so far. Simon Sinek made an interesting observation when he attended a Microsoft event and soon after an Apple event. At the Microsoft event, the recurring theme was how they would beat Apple. However, the presenters at Apple spoke about how they were trying to help teachers and students.
Having a cause behind your product and team is what will make them innovate and fuel their zeal. Mere competition is not adequate or even the right thing to be obsessed about. Is your main idea to compete or is your main idea to excel for generations–helping your customers thrive while you make a profit?
Simon ended up giving away his Zune MP3 player–which he described as, “So much better than the iPod touch.” The Zune HD by Microsoft was a better product but the iPod touch had a community behind it who conveniently consumed their music on iTunes. About a year later after Zune was released Apple launched the iPhone killing the need for both Zune and iPod. They didn't think ahead by comparing with the competition, or with their past success. Their cause and ideals as a company are what helped them go far and beyond and make a product their consumers wanted to use.
People Matter
Who should you care about? Who are you accountable to? Unfortunately, some businesses operate as if they should only be accountable to their shareholders. Some care only for a section and not the whole. The sections may be the C-suite executives, some only the customers. Long-term thinking involves understanding that the executives matter, employees matter and the customer matters too.
If you bully your employees into meeting arbitrary targets, they might actually meet those targets and surpass them. Fear is definitely a motivator but what it breeds cannot sustain success. You end up with a demotivated group, who will do anything to survive that work environment. However, if you build trust your employees will be motivated to be innovative, open, and willing to sacrifice for the benefit of the business during tough economic times.
Profit-making is essential for all businesses and shareholders should be keen that their investment is turning a profit. But should that be at the cost of employee welfare or the quality of services and goods sold to the consumer? A balance must be struck or else one section of your business will be satisfied at the cost of another and eventually all will crumble.
The benefits of realizing that people matter and they are not resources to exploit include trustworthy teams, motivated and innovative employees, ethical business culture, and sustainable success over a long period of time. Governments have failed and companies have died not comprehending that if they really cared about people they’d have a just cause fueling their thinking, policies, and decisions. I hope you chose to care before the morals fade, motivation dies and innovation stagnates.
You're welcome.
People are the very foundation upon which all our desires and actions, and subsequently, success rely on. Relationships need to address our present state whilst remaining futuristic in nature. Thanks for the reminder!