The Power of Anticipation in Business

No company is bulletproof to change. Having spent time studying business strategy under some brilliant minds, I have fallen in love with some of the lessons they teach. You have to understand what is happening both inside and outside your industry if you are going to be able to anticipate changes. Losers react, leaders anticipate.

Anticipate The Change, See Where Your Product Is Outdated

For 244 years Encyclopedia Britannica was iconic for one simple product, the printing of volumes of information  into books that were usually sold door to door. They were considered the  premiere choice for those looking to be able to access information at  their fingertips. For over 200 years, editorial revisions were extremely  manual and mechanical. It took at least a year for every new addition,  many times multiples of years.

The peak of encyclopedia sales was 1990. Britannica employed over  2,000 salespeople and sold over 100,000 units in the US alone. In 1991  the personal computer entered the mainstream. The PC started shipping  with a CD version of an encyclopedia. This should have been the death  blow to the company. But they saw the proverbial writing on the wall  long before the actual bomb dropped.

In 1970 the forward thinking editors and execs had just finished  loading the contents of the encyclopedia on a mainframe computer to  streamline the editing process. They realized right then and there that eventually the material that they sold in printed form would eventually  be offered in digital format. They saw the threat to their door-to-door  model and were able to see the substitution of product prior to the  threat.

In the 80s, even while the printed model was booming, they continued  to experiment with the digital model. When the internet took hold, they  were already poised to move their purpose, product and company in a  different direction. By doing so, their company has seen a 17% annual  growth over the next 5 years and a 95% renewal rate from their new  subscription model. They realized that they weren’t an encyclopedia  company but a reference company. They have turned into a complete  learning business. The last print version was the 32-volume 2010 edition, which weighed 129 pounds and included new entries such as  global warming and the Human Genome Project. In 2012, after 244 years, Britannica ended the print editions. By the time the company had stopped  publishing the print editions, printed sales only represented about 1% of their business. 

Ask the question you are afraid to ask. 

• What substitutions of product are out there that can cause your company to stumble? 
• What technologies are on the horizon that will change the way my industry is consumed and valued? 
• How do you limit your company’s growth by having a purpose that may become outdated or no longer useful in the future? 
• What can your company do to prepare for the road ahead?  
• Do you have a way for your company or brand to anticipate the road ahead? 
• What are 3 things you can do today that will align your company for a more strategic position tomorrow?
• What is the question you are afraid to ask? What don't you see?

It doesn’t have to be such a abrupt shift as people aren’t using your  entire product so your whole business model must change. It might be the way you are serving the client. It might be some new tech coming down the pipe that will allow you to impact them at a higher level. How are you constantly growing in a way that is meaningful for your client? 

What are the rivers of information you are accessing to give even more impact for those around you?

Do you have someone to work with you on the frame of which you are viewing your world?