My Facebook screen asked What’s on your mind?
My LinkedIn profile asked What are you working on?
The answer is Where do I go from here?
My personal strategy audit indicates I have done a good job establishing my credentials as someone others can rely on to ask probing questions that help companies move past their roadblocks and do things differently. My track record as a strategic futurist is good. Not everyone knows me, but those who do recognize the benefit they can derive from employing the unique strengths with which I have been blessed.
This is the result of a strict adherence to the brand promise – I Help Companies Think Differently.
Through planning retreats, strategy audits and executive coaching, I’ve been able to guide dozens of clients along a change journey that has resulted in solid benefits for their organizations. Clients come and go, but I can’t think of one that’s been disappointed or who won’t bring me back for another assignment when the need arises.
I give good consulting.
Now What ??
So here’s the dilemma: I have identified five factors that will have significant impact on all organizations as they move forward into the future. The five are not trends, but rather foundational changes in the way human beings think and behave. I use the factors to help clients think about how they’ll need to change to meet the needs of their customers and I need to listen to my own advice.
One of the key factors is the desire by consumers to modify products and services to fit their lifestyle. I call it the “iTunes Lifestyle” after the renowned service that allows you to pick ONLY the music you want to hear and not an entire album. This factor is becoming a fundamental requirement for ALL organizations. People want to modify, to fit their lifestyles, whatever it is you’re providing – music, clothing, cars, religious services, healthcare, education, vacation travel. Nothing is exempt from this factor, including my consulting practice.
So – that’s where I am right now. I have recognized the need to think differently about my practice and the way I deliver services – while at the same maintaining the valuebale franchise my brand has established in the minds of my audicne.
More later as I try to figure this out.
It is an appropriate time to ponder the past and prepare for the future. I returned from an Orland conference this week to learn that a 47 year-old man who worked for me for several years died of a heart attack in a Toronto hotel room during a business trip. Too young! Makes me more thankful to wake up again this morning and be able to read thought-provoking questions from my friend Jim. I am reading your e-mail in Memphis, MO on a long weekend with my brother. We are spending a few days visiting the places where our grandparents lived and we were born. It’s farm country. The hotel we’re staying has 15 rooms … all full due to a funeral in town plus it’s turkey hunting season. It takes variety to fill up capacity. The towns we visited today have 2,018, 102 and 200 respectively. The biggest moneymaker is Keith’s Cafe. We ate there in the 1950′s. Neither the building or menu has changed. The founder died last year and the wife and kids sold to a young man with his promise not to change anything. Maybe there is a principle or practice in my weekend that helps you gel your thoughts.
Tom