Perpetual Evolution

The case for whatever works

It’s almost half a century since Alvin Toffler published “The Future as a Way of Life” in Horizon magazine. The article spoke of a world where too much changed in too short a period. It was a prelude to his influential book, “Future Shock”. Toffler warned that given how rapidly the environment was evolving we would need to be more agile in the future.

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So you want to be disruptive?

Driving business evolution

A share market index tracks a basket of stocks. We follow them to see where markets are heading.  What we don’t follow so closely is what’s in the basket.

Companies come and go. Some end in bankruptcy; others merge or get taken over. Some just fade from view. Seventy years ago, Joseph Schumpeter labeled this “creative destruction”. It’s why index baskets are revised each year.

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Getting most of what you want

They are feeling the heat too

What surprises me most in negotiations is when the other side folds. It comes out of the blue. It doesn’t seem to reflect the strength of my position. It’s often contrary to how they had presented, even the table-thumpers.

I’m not a particularly skilled or highly experienced negotiator. But one thing I’ve noticed is it’s always darkest before dawn. Just when I think I have been worn down, I find out they have been too. 

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Selling for Introverts

The better half of salesmanship

“He’s so gregarious. He’d make a great salesman.” It conjures up the positive, outgoing personality who always gets the order.

Is that actually the reality?

I’ve managed a lot of sales people. The ones who put runs on the board – that’s runs plural, not just the odd flashy win – often have a touch of reserve. They would place in a popularity contest, but not win it.

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Nobody Knows

Predictions are usually wrong

It’s February. We’ve made it through another prediction season. We now know what to expect in 2013.

Or do we? After all, most of the things commentators told us would happen a year ago failed to materialize. Mostly, they were wrong.

Some failures were well broadcast. US election predictions were pretty much all wrong. Left and right-wingers were equally hopeless. They had Obama winning or losing by huge margins. The result was a close call. Democracy, as usual, muddled through.

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