Digital David Can Easily Defeat Bulky Goliath
Across the sciences and society, in parliament and education, in military and business, new technologies are not merely expanding our capabilities, they are molding and conducting them, for better and for worse. If we do not understand how complicated technologies function then their potential is more easily captured by nonpareil and corporations. There is a causal relationship between the enigma of the systems we encounter every day and global issues of injustice, hate, philosophy and foundation.
Instead of an idealistic future in which technological advancement casts a massive pragmatic impact on the world, we seem to be entering a new age characterized by ever more strange and unforeseen events. To understand what is happening, it’s necessary to understand how our technologies have come to be, and how we have come to place so much faith in them. This is why many technologists believe that the “Singularity” phenomenon is around the corner.
The Singularity is the hypothetical future creation of super-intelligent machines. Superintelligence is defined as a technologically-created capacity far beyond that possible for humans. Should the Singularity happen, technology will advance beyond our ability to foresee or control its outcomes and the world will be transformed beyond recognition by the application of superintelligence to humans and/or human problems.
In the corporate realm, change moves at a whirlwind speed. Uniform plans can become hackneyed within months. Albeit some companies are reviewing strategies punctually, front-line employees should have consented to implement a line of action in order to achieve the company’s collective goals.
Communication magnate Rupert Murdoch encapsulated this notion when he quoted, “The world is changing very fast. Big will not beat small anymore. It will be the fast beating the slow.” A little introduction to Murdoch- After his father died in 1952, 21-year-old Rupert inherited control of the family’s newspaper, the Adelaide News. He immediately set about acquiring other news outlets, a process that accelerated in the 1980s and 1990s until he’d built the second-biggest media conglomerate in the world, News Corporation. He still controls its daughter companies, News Corp and 21st Century Fox, which split in 2013. Safe to say this man knows what he is talking about.
The focus has shifted from big to small because the new economy is defined by breaking old paradigms and bringing more value to the customers by thinking and implementing ideas that change the game. Powered by digital age technologies, the smaller, more contemporary setups can bring the required change as they can be more innovative and agile than the established players. Emerging businesses who have no curse of legacy can truly innovate by harnessing the power of lean digital ways to do business and beat established ‘Goliaths’.
What defines Business today?
• The last decade has shown rapid development in information technology and its application. This has helped changed the way we look at the world, as well as the way business, is conducted. Both business and trade have gained under the wave of information technology with improvement in efficiency, productivity and bottom line. Productivity improvement has facilitated speedy and accurate production in large volumes. Indian financial sector has also benefited from advancement in information technology.
• The current global and competitive business environment constantly asks for innovation, an existing knowledge base is getting obsolete, continuously thriving for advancement in process improvement. The learning curve is always put to test, and every company is striving to remain ahead of the competition. Due to this shift in the way business is getting done has thrown out a new reality of ever-shortening product and service life cycle. More and more companies are coming out with customized products and finding ways to differentiate from the competition.
• The recent explosion of information technology has seen few but significant emerging trends, for example, the mobile platform for doing business, cloud computing, technology to handle a large volume of data, DIY Website, Digital Workplace, etc.
• These fresh technologies and platforms are creating a number of opportunities for companies to drive strategic business advantage and stay ahead of the competition. Companies need to work on new plans to maintain flexibility and deliver customer satisfying products and services.
What slows a business down?
• Poor communication and lack of visibility are often responsible for the misalignment of teams and departments. Clear communication is important for the accomplishments of more goals faster. It helps employees steer in clear direction facing fewer pivots setting precedent for better collaboration.
• Lack of delegation. Delegation of menial tasks frees up time for important tasks as it gives more time for planning and strategizing for bigger and better things. As a bonus, it can really buoy a team’s confidence and skill set to take on new tasks that contribute to the team’s success.
• Presence of Silo mentality. Silos can result in a sense of conformism and can undermine the spirit of collaboration, ruining the ability of the company to stay innovative and aligned. Siloed teams often lead to siloed information, an absolute slayer of cross-functional collaboration critical to rival in business today. Teams that collaborate well with other teams tend to be more transparent and accountable, allowing them to move more quickly and drive better results.
• Multitasking takes a toll on the productivity of the organization. Juggling strategic activities is not efficient. It is unrealistic to quit multitasking forever but here are some techniques to make multitasking work for you.
• Isolated working results in a lack of inspiration and also sends a message of inaccessibility to others working in the same organization. Leaders who don’t check in and connect with their employees miss the chance to create a team culture that encourages accountability.
What can make business fast?
• By streamlining workflow process, trying new strategies, regularly tweaking the workflow, eradicating bureaucracy, replacing subdued and underachieving components. Occasionally revamping the entire work process if necessary. Always be aware of the department’s productivity and make changes where ever required.
• Always monitor trends and upheavals that could come in a specific industry. What is to come and what is happening right now, so as to take advantage of the speed and stay ahead of the competitors.
• If you have limited time to grab hold of something that can benefit you and your team, don’t fluctuate. Either do it or don’t. Rupert Murdoch’s ability to size up opportunities to acquire new media outlets and then snap them up when they seemed right resulted in enormous success for his company. He’s received a lot of criticism over the decades for his ruthless speed and efficiency, but it’s one of the chief factors in his success.
• Removing the silo mentality and incorporating modern business solutions in the business to collaborate better among employees i.e. internal users and also external users such as customers, suppliers etc.
You don’t have to be the giant that was “Goliath” to succeed in business; you just need to tank up with well-informed strategies, like the schemes and tricks used by David. This will help you not only stay on the straight and narrow but do so with commendable velocity, bypassing competitors who haven’t yet realized the need for speed.
originally posted on www.crrux.com
