“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
I had the good fortunate a few weeks ago to be chatting with a group of extremely high-performing leaders. A lot of interesting topics came up, but one that really stretched everyone’s minds was that of artificial intelligence (AI). No one had any magic bullets, but the possibilities and complications that AI presents had everyone’s attention.
AI may be one currently popular example, but what else is on the horizon that might change the way you do business? Or, at the very least, change the way you function in your role on a daily basis? Do you ever stop to think about that?
Virtually every leader on earth is extraordinarily busy (some of what they’re busy doing may not be worth their time, but that’s a topic for another blog). One of the unfortunate byproducts of that busy-ness is that it’s really difficult for most leaders to think beyond the day-to-day. But it’s a byproduct that has to be overcome.
Think about the organization you lead. What’s out there on the horizon that could change what you do and/or how you do it in a significant way? The first thing everyone wants to point to is always technology, and that’s certainly on the list. But what else might have a huge impact?
Think about your customers. How are they changing? What will they want to buy from you in 2-4-6 years? How will they want to buy it? How much will they be willing to pay for it? How will they want you to deliver it to them? Are the answers to those questions significantly different in the future than they are today?
Think about your people. What kind of people will you need? What skills will they need to have? How will they want to work for you – at home? At the office? Somewhere else? More importantly, why will they want to work for you? What are you going to offer them that they just can’t get anywhere else?
I could go on and on, but you probably get the idea. As leaders, we have to be thinking about what’s out there in our future. And it’s not always bad. Sometimes those things on the horizon are huge opportunities, and we need to be ready to take advantage of them.
What’s coming down the road for you & your business? What’s on the horizon that is going to revolutionize what you do and how you do it? It’s time to get ready and get to work.
