Are you ready for the next big change in your business?

The way you did business is no longer the way you do business!

  • Marketing your product and services to generate traffic has shifted from print to digital formats.
  • Payment has gone from cash to a simple wave of a smart phone over a payment terminal.
  • Document delivery is no longer made by courier or fax, it is sent via email.
  • Customers can schedule their own appointments in your calendar.
  • Fulfillment is a click away.
  • Robotics are streamlining the workflow.

Every business will experience disruption sooner or later. Including the big innovators that have tipped industries on their proverbial edge. 

That’s right!  Disruption is not a phenomena reserved for small businesses trying to survive in a peer-to-peer economy. The companies that have become global influencers of massive change are having to come to terms with how their own innovations are impacting their workplace.

For example, Amazon has announced they will be investing $700 Million over the next six years into a retraining program for one-third of their workforce. One hundred thousand employees will be offered free training for in-demand skills such as computer programming, robotics, logistics, and more.  

The reason for this workforce shift is due to another investment the e-commerce giant is making in robotic order fulfillment. The effort to make order processing and shipping faster (and less expensive) is creating a disruption that forces them to address the need for higher-skilled employees.

In my keynote program, Herding Porcupines: How to Turn Disruption into Your Competitive Advantage, we explore the reality that in today’s economy adaptability is just as valuable as ability.  

Amazon has built their business on the ability to be adaptable — and now must adapt to the need for improved human abilities.  The employees who see this is a positive disruption will gain new knowledge they can use in or outside of the organization. Those who perceive it as a negative change and refuse to volunteer to develop new skills will find themselves without jobs.

The competitive advantage goes to the person (and company) who is committed to CHANGE PROACTIVELY. 

Here are three important questions to consider today so you can have a stronger future:

  1. What areas of my work could I improve by adapting to a new method or process?
  2. Considering the future of my career/business – what one specific skill do I need to learn to enhance my abilities? 
  3. In what ways can I be more proactive?

Here’s to your success!

~  Steven Iwersen, CSP


Book Steven for your upcoming event or a special training session for your team – email [email protected] or call 913-406-3824.

Steven is the author of Porcupine Philosophy: 365 Leadership Points to Ponder and The Porcupine Principles: How to Move Prickly People to Preferred Outcomes