Business
There is no doubt that things change as time goes by… but never have things (especially pertaining to business) advanced as rapidly as they do now. With technology evolving and changing on a day to day basis, it can be a challenge to keep up. Marketing, communication, networking, technology, infrastructure… all of these are areas that are constantly affected by the metamorphosis of who we are as humans, and how we do business with one another. Keeping up with the business world can be a challenge, but it is definitely possible. In fact, those who are the most successful at business in the long run are usually those who are good at adapting to changes as they take place in the world around them. Regardless of what type of business you are in, you are probably going to be hard-pressed to run it without adapting to new technologies as you progress. Communication is Only the Beginning If anything has changed in the last twenty years, it has been communications. Businesses now communicate with other businesses, employees, and potential clients in ways that were unheard of just a few short years ago. There was a time (and not that long ago, either) when you mailed checks with order forms if you needed a product from a store far away. There was also a time when landline telephones were a primary method of communication. Do you remember the days when the fax machine was a revolutionary way to receive information on short notice? Even these modern-day wonders have been all but replaced by the advent of newer and more effective technologies. Where we used to rely on catching people at home on the landline phone, or leaving a voice mail on the physical voice mail machine, we now all carry cell phones that make us reachable 24/7. Instead of fax machines, we use texting and email to send instant written messages back and forth. Even face-to-face meetings have changed! With services like Skype available to anyone, you can have a face-to-face meeting with your colleague, virtual employee, client, or prospective client from the other side of the world in real time! How can you keep up with these changes? How do you know what is being used and what is just a passing fad? These are great questions, and the answers are not as difficult to figure out as you might think. Staying Current in a Changing World The first thing to remember about staying current is to pay attention to growing and changing trends. Listen to your employees, mentors, and peers. Find out what other businesses are doing. Be active on social media websites and try to get as much information as you can about new technologies. And, surprisingly, listening to your kids or to other younger people is often an overlooked way to hear about newer changes first. Often, the younger generations are more likely to accept newer technologies and quicker to assimilate them into their lifestyle. By paying attention to what younger consumers are using, buying, and communicating with, you can usually stay pretty on top of what the next fad is going to be before it goes main-stream on a major level. In the end, the biggest thing is not being afraid to embrace new technologies or ways of doing things. A lot is going to change as you operate your business. In five years, you will likely not be doing things the same way that you are now. In twenty years, what you are doing now will most likely seem archaic by the worlds standards. What got you to where you are now is not what will take you to where you want to be. By the time you retire, you will remember back to the early days of your business, and the methods that you used to get started will seem quite ancient. The truth is that things are going to change, and unless you can commit to changing with them, you and your business are going to quickly get left behind. What Can You Do? The best way to stay current in today’s business world is to keep your eyes and ears open. Constantly be on the lookout for new things that people ar