This is the fourth article in an evolving series about a new role, vision, mission for all small to medium business owners. For the first article in the series, which is a regularly updated, living document of new initiatives, see Living Document.
Imagine you are in a box cube 10 x 10 x 10 metres. The ceiling is falling slowly at first, and then faster. Each of the four walls is starting to close in on you. Now you are crouching on the floor. Then a bit like Alice in Wonderland you see a small door in front of you. It’s labelled, “This way to a total transformation of your business.” Will you open the door and crawl through while you still have time?
Yeap! An analogy I know. But very like the situation most of us face now…
STEEP, in our title, is a deliberate play on words
Firstly, STEEP is an acronym for social-technological-ecological-economic-political.
We’ve used this acronym in three earlier articles – when we indicated globally we are heading towards major challenges, tipping points, crises, transformations in all of these ‘whole system’ elements. Global warming is but one of many. We’re in a box, or prison, of our own making. And the walls and ceiling are closing in.
See, for example. these 10 big global challenges enunciated by the World Economic Forum, way back in 2016.
Secondly, our learning curve, to find new ways through these enormous challenges, so we turn crisis into opportunity, and we transform our business is definitely steep. So we must start NOW.
And, thirdly, the new role and mission of existing small to medium businesses may sound a bit STEEP? Even a mission impossible. Definitely a break from traditional business!
To summarise our additional vision and mission…
That new mission is for us to continue as value-adding profit-generators, certainly. But also to be businesses with soul. That is transformative agents of ‘whole system change,’ who create far better futures for us all and attend to a seven-fold bottom line:
A Mission Impossible? We’ll see…
16 year old youth, Greta Thunberg, started as a sole, lonely voice. One year later, she had galvanised literally millions of ecological activists in 150 countries to take to the streets about global warming.
Similarly, other business owners around the world, are taking up of this new business role and mission, with alacrity. So must we.
Seven more examples of the tsunami-like trends
To get us moving toward this additional role, here are seven more examples of the tsunami-like trends that are changing the entire world and the face of business. They are making our new, additional mission both essential and vital.
1.Massive flows of radical innovations from the 4th Industrial Revolution
2. Increase of competitors, in different forms – including around 133 million new start up businesses every year
3. Major breakdown of trust and ‘faith’ in our established institutions in almost every nation
4. A majority of customers who view our businesses as either unethical, obsolete, non-performing, or adding inadequate value.… and are voting with their feet
5. Rise of Millennials and Gen Z, with different attitudes to business now being almost 50% of the global workforce, and 50% of the income earners. Soon that will be 75%
6. Wholesale automation of services with robots, AI, and smart machines.
7. Rise of quite different economies – like the sharing economy or collaborative economy, the circular economy, the regenerative economy.
Business as abnormal
Like it or not, massive changes are in the pipeline, and are on the way. These changes threaten the survival and thrival of virtually all our businesses.
It’s now no longer business as normal. Abnormal is now the norm. Our world, our work, our jobs, our industries and our futures, are being transformed right now.
Road map
To speed up our move towards our new role, mission, decisions, strategies, innovations and actions, a road map is highly useful: In later articles of this series, the team from Innovating Our Futures provides a 20-step road map we can follow to make the “impossible,” highly possible, and probable.
Next article in the series: Not Mission Impossible. Mission Quite Possible –
Feel free to post these advanced notices and the later 20-step road map to your own network.
Want to know more? Want to dialogue? Want to be part of the new role and mission?
Contact Neville Christie on +61 420 978 932 or neville@nevillechristie.com
#majortrends #newbusinessrole #businessthreats #businessopportunities
In the light of huge global changes…as small to medium businesses Founders and Owners… we must now act to transform our Purpose, role, vision, and
This is the second article in a series about a new role, vision, mission for all small to medium business owners. For the first article
