011: How the Entire Business World is Subject to Change
In a world demanding, rewarding, and supportive of structure I believe business markets today are more fluid and changing than they've ever been before. Mainstream culture supports an economy of pattern, an economy of structured hierarchy, one that "makes sense". Although patterns sometime do emerge in business systems, the truth is that the business world is subject to changing at every level.
Here's how I see it. Business as a whole is a combination of human nature and human technology. When an idea is structured into a business, it operates through what you can call a business system. Business systems are the processes on which businesses operate. These systems are have always changed for the better through history, and they are what's continuing to change at surprising speeds. Ideas change as well, but they change at slower rates that correlate with the needs of people. The needs of people are expressed in a chart you've probably seen before: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (below). The majority of businesses function to fulfill one or many of these needs. They also are used as a step to get to closer to fulfilling some need within this range. This chart explains the needs of humans at our most basic level, physiological, to our highest development, self-actualization. Businesses are all rooted in the process of fulfilling one of these needs, even if it may not seem like it at first. Check out these examples of different businesses in each hierarchy.
Physiological: Grocery stores (food), restaurants (food), pharmacies (homeostasis), hospitals (well-being), gyms (exercise), mattress sales (sleep), silverware (used to eat), cardboard producers (i.e. used for pizza boxes that hold food).
Safety: Insurance, doctors' offices (security of health), gun sales, universities (security of employment), car windshield sales (safety from debris and wind), clothing and shoes (security from the environment and weather), bug spray (health safety).
Love & Belonging: Hallmark, flower shops, any recreation sport like golf or bowling (for friendship), latex and condom sales (for intimacy), diapers (family and love).
Esteem: Universities (self-respect and respect of others), therapy (for esteem), Ralph Lauren (look good, feel good).
Self-Actualization: Anything aiding the study or quest for creativity, problem solving, or morality (Concrete used to build a religious church, Barnes & Nobles that sells books on this, a production company that produces a documentary of creativity).
My point here is businesses will always function and strive to serve the needs of people, but the way they are built and operate is changing rapidly. One hundred years ago food was grown and sold local, doctors were family friends, people made their own clothing and furniture. Businesses were mainly local, simple, and contained within a small region. After the second world war and boom in the American suburbs, business grew in size and numbers. National corporations became common. People now worked repetitively from 9-5 and under a hierarchy of managers and bosses in big companies (still exists today). The business world hadn't completely reinvented itself compared to 50 years prior. TV and radio were the only new forms of media and advertisement, and the world generally moved at the same style of speed. Fast forward to the 1990s and the start of the Internet, e-commerce, social media, and a new style of business. Within the next 30 years leading up to today the business economy completely flipped on its head. Personal branding and independence is now far more popular than corporate loyalty, businesses communicate one-to-one through social media, and the playing field is being evened.
Herein lies the opportunity! People (not commandments) run businesses, like I said, and the world is changing. People are going to change with it. The strategies that have been used for centuries are curling and bending to an "instant economy". Books are delivered and read instantly on your phone, Amazon can ship virtually anything to your door in 2 days, social media is giving power back to the consumer, and globalization is real. Groundbreaking advancements in technology like 3D printing are becoming applicable to so many different businesses! The world's economy and business infrastructure, from how I see it, is more volatile than it's ever been. I think companies have already started reengineering themselves, but it is a slow process. This can be either scary or extremely exciting. Plan ahead of the curve! Know everything about business systems are subject to change. Almost everyone is playing with an even advantage right now.
