Keep With the Times or Your Business Will Die Trying

Today we live in a world where the products of today are likely to be outdated in just a few months time. We see this with things like the hard drive in your computer. Only a few short years ago the thought of having a relatively cheap computer with multi-terabyte storage was insane, and being able to have a laptop that ran all day was impossible. Now it's common practice. Back in the early 2000's we used to take pictures with dinky little plastic cameras like the one below. Now though, your camera is on your phone. Along with your music player, games, contact book, email, internet and a million other functions. The world moved on quickly from pictures on film to pictures in cyberspace.

Image from Amazon

This was not something which Kodak took action on. They stubbornly decided not to move with the trend and believed that their product was superior to that which was being developed. Rather than see the future, which was digital photography, they chose to invest and pursue other ways of making their films better. Lets not forget that digital photography was something that Kodak themselves invented and yet chose to ignore.

It wouldn't probably be surprising then to say that because Kodak chose not to pursue the new digital form of picture taking, they ended up going broke. While everyone else was moving forward with the new, Kodak stuck with the old and the results of doing so are clear to be seen. Kodak is now no more.

So what can we learn from this? Well its important that any company can not only develop and build new technology, but also adapt to it if they can see a shift in the market. A business should also always be open minded to the idea of changing their flagship product, or tossing it out in favour of the new and the 'better'. Any company should also encourage firm testing and analytics of not just its products, but those being developed for implementation in the future. This is so as to accurately gauge their market worth and potential to drive sales.

In short then don't be like Kodak. Embrace new technology and embrace change because in the fluid world that we now live in, keeping up with the pack is life or death for any business.

As always thanks for reading and if you have any thoughts on this, please post in the comments section below.

A Reflection On The Pitfalls Of Being Different In Business

For this blog I want to reflect on my experiences of trying to complete an assignment for my Uni degree. The assignment was basically to generate profit for charity with $5 seed funding in under 4 weeks. Now while I can feel already many of you are thinking right now of brilliant fast money enterprises, there's an issue with almost all of them.

What is that you may ask? Well being different doesn't always pay dividends.

Take for instance the first idea my group had. It was essentially to offer an errand/lunch/coffee service to lecturers and tutors who don't always have the time to get their own food. They give us $1 or $2 and we do a job for them. While this is by no means groundbreaking its definitely a little different to your lemonade stand or raffle. We felt that this model was easy to carry out, required $0 funding to get it started and could easily be managed by the 3 of us. And so we began speaking to customers and finding out what they wanted, got a fairly good response too..

So wheres the issue?

The issues lies in that we barely got any orders. While other groups were doing simple stuff like baking cookies or scones or organizing movie nights and bringing in revenue, we weren't. My group chose to try and do something that was not the norm when it comes to rapid fund raising. To be honest I felt a bit disheartened to see that trying to be a little different made nowhere near as much cash as doing what everyone else does.

So is it wrong to do something generic?

Not at all. Let's not forget that these models are so common because they consistently work well and are capable of bringing in revenue fast and in a relatively easy manner. It's just that when you're told on a weekly basis by your educators to be different, try new things and stand out, it all seems a little pointless. Will this stop me and my fellow students from trying outlandish ideas? Absolutely not, as failure and learning from failure is an essential component of entrepreneurship and business success.

So where does that leave us?

Yes it is true that the most common business models for fundraising are generally the most reliable and successful compared to more left-field ideas. But trying new things and testing out new models is truly the key to making bigger strides in the business world. Therefore I'd recommend using a common business model to get you started on your entrepreneurial path, but always be thinking outside the box when looking towards the future.

Why Failure is Essential for Great Leadership

We've all had that sinking feeling in the pits of our stomach reading that latest test score or financial report and seeing what we don't like. I can guarantee that even if you tell your friends that you don't care, failure is a life shaping phenomenon. It can drive a knife right through your soul and close off potentials. At least that's what we're taught at school. I'm writing this blog today to show you that not only is failure an essential part of life, but that it's what turns leaders into great leaders.

Failure is a Part of Life
No matter who you are or what you do at some point you have failed at something. Whether you are willing to admit this is a different story! As you fill find on Forbes website "Successful leaders today need...a track record of failure". Many business people would throw their briefcases high in the air in disgust at this comment. We are forever being told 'failure bad, success good' and sure success is nice but failure makes up the stepping stones to success. So what really is failure then?

Understanding Failure for What it is
Success Magazine put it well that "society doesn't reward defeat" but when you look at it closely, failure is almost never defeat. Failure isn't just about not achieving your goals. The most successful people of our time have a track record of taking big risks with the real possibility of failure. Bill Gates's first business Traf-O-Data did not have any success and yet his determination led him to where he is today as one of the richest people on earth. Failure is all about giving something a go. You may not get out what you intended or get anything out at all but at least you've learnt from the experience. learning's which prove invaluable in the success of the next project. Here can be seen that failure isn't a dead end. Rather its a component of the path to success. We try and test and we fail only to take that failure and learn from it to improve our next venture. It raises the question 'how can we learn if we never fail?'. Of which the answer is remarkably straight forward, we cant.

Why is Failure so Good?
The basic plot line of any hero movie is that they face challenges and fail along the way to ultimate success. The reason why these movies have been modelled in this way is because it reflects how we perceive failure. We respect and admire those who have faced challenges and stumbled occasionally towards their goal. Huffington Post sums it up nicely in that "failure should not be a mark of shame, but a badge of honour showing the world that you are willing to try again". The leaders of the next generation need to have failed as some point. They have to have had the 'brought down to earth' sensation of reevaluating and reattempting a goal. As follows of these great leaders it helps us to know that those who we admire have gone through the same emotions as ourselves. It forms tie to that person as we can empathise and relate to their struggles.

All up?
Failure is no longer a mark of embarrassment. It's a way of showing others that they can trust you because you've been there and failed too. A leader could be anyone, however a great leader is born out of their failures. Nothing teaches a lesson harder than trying and failing but most often this gives birth to leadership brilliance.