Facing the Future: My Crystal Ball

From the December 2009 Issue

For most businesses, 2008 was a year they would rather forget. The headlines were merciless with stories of bankruptcies, foreclosures, layoffs, tight credit and the general discomfort in a country that was more used to jobs, profits and plenty.

The economic turmoil continues to leave its mark, and those who are surviving are doing so because of their ability to change their ways, become more efficient, or streamline operations and business practices. In many cases, that reflects changes fueled by technology, coupled with more deliberate attention to value received before they invest.

As the calendar flips to 2010, there will still be headlines of more bankruptcies and foreclosures, and stories of those whose jobs were lost as their 20th century version of a buggy building company lost its relevancy. Continuing to stay above the doom and gloom are those nimble entrepreneurs and business leaders agile enough to adapt. What they learned in 2009 has opened their eyes and brought into focus the changes they must make in order to keep their relevancy in the marketplace. Although my crystal ball is hazy, let’s look at a few areas I predict will impact these agile leaders for 2010:

REMOTE CONNECTION

As gas prices rise and the reasons to always be “at the office” decline, the trend toward working remotely from home will increase.

Lesson learned from 2009: Some employees actually are more efficient when they work from home, away from distractions. Businesses, seeking more experienced employees to reduce the enormous cost of ramping up, will be more open to “remote” team members if they are the right fit. Some companies will get by fine with less office space, others will build more efficiency into the space they have to address changes in use. Either way, there are potential savings in both rental costs and cost per employee.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

It’s back! Although it should never be out of style, once again we see a focus on paying more attention to your clients as a sound business practice.

eck, even our local cable company is now calling after service tech visits to ask if everything got fixed correctly. The cable company! I’m one of millions. Who would have thought it?

The nimble will focus on tools like SharePoint and CRM that make it easier for them to deliver at a higher level to their clients.

Lesson learned from 2009: Customer satisfaction is not sufficient; customer loyalty is the goal. If all you have is an e-mail relationship, be careful. It can vanish into thin air. The nimble will create an environment where clients want to do business with them. They will also return to the personal touch with their clients. The technology makes it too easy to communicate electronically; it is time to make it personal and only use technology to support relationships and not be them.

VALUE