Change is inevitable. The pace at which the world around us is changing is mind boggling. Are you heading into this busy season with the same game plan as last year? If the answer is yes, I urge you to reconsider now. Has the world changed in the last year? I'd say - just a bit! Your customer's buying patterns are different. Your customer's income has changed. The value of their homes have declined. How people view energy has changed. The list goes on and on. We no longer have the luxury to replay a successful year with the same strategy. The world has changed. As soon as you figure it out, do not get comfy, it's going to change again. Whether you like this "new world" or not, I believe it is here to stay, at least in the very foreseeable future. A successful entrepreneur has to have the ability to not only race like a cheetah, but change directions in an instant.
I read a great book a year ago or so called The World is Flat by Thomas L. Freidman. It is a rather long read and who knows, it may be obsolete info now. None the less, my best take away was his thoughts on education. He felt that we are lagging behind the global competition because we have trained our best and brightest in fields that became obsolete or irrelevant in the current global economy. He suggests, "what we learn today in school will be outdated by tomorrow, and therefore, the most successful people in the 'flat world' will be those who can adapt and learn quickly. The greater our curiosity and passion for learning, the greater chances we will have for success later in life."
Who knows, our entire wood burning industry could be dead next year. If so, can you learn fast enough to adapt in order to exploit the opportunities that follow the wake of change? If you're not ready, someone else is.
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