Mark P. McDonald2011 is shaping up to be the year when the world takes the turn away from thinking about economic challenges and setting their sights on economic opportunities.
For better or worse people are coming to the recognition that the economy we have is the one we are stuck with so we better start acting and stop hoping that things will magically get better.
While one can argue if the recession in the US really ended in June 2009 or its still around, one thing is for certain — it is no longer credible to talk down your company’s expectations for the future.
Leadership is being redefined from the steady hand that guides the company in rough seas to being the person who can find and deliver opportunity in the harshest environment. The forces behind this change are many, ranging form the realization that we live in a multi-speed economy, to acceptance of the ‘new normal’, to the fact that many companies will be reporting year over year and sequential improvements in their performance, to the fact that most of us are tired of living in a recession. All of these contribute to the desire we all have to put the past behind us, turn the page and start writing our future.
The turn we are taking concerns our expectations for the future that have been reset as we face the realities of the current environment and start to look at how we move forward. This is not ‘making lemonade out of lemons’ rather it is a recognitions that while we still face tough personal, corporate and societal choices we have to move forward as much as we fix the past.
Significant changes have occurred over the past few years and these changes have reshaped our options for moving forward. They include:
A new level playing field where technology, trade and global logistics have redefined the sources of competitive advantage.
A consumer that sees value in new ways beyond the tension between price and performance
The creation of a missing middle between increasingly fractured and localized markets and a consolidating global supply chain.
A generational change of your workforce as time finally trumps economic conditions and personal plans
Technology becomes boring because technology is in abundance everywhere setting new requirements for the future at the same time as it upsets current technology and IT firms.
These are some of the things that have changed as we all take the turn into the future. I am sure they are not all of them. What are some of the things you see changing as you look around the corner to 2011 and beyond. What will become more important, lose importance or be redefined?
The next few posts will discuss these changes and it would be great to get your collective ideas into the discussion.
Category: CIO Economy Leadership Strategy Tags: 2011 Planning, Business Leadership, Business Strategy, Economic Recovery, Economy, IT and Business
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