Change Management


Sometimes things change and are never the same again. Learn how to read the handwriting on the wall, know when changes are coming, and cash in on them before anyone else.

Do you pity the old guy standing in the line up at the bank, just to pay his phone bill? He probably has a twenty minute wait, simply because he doesn't, "get it."

Yes, when banks started allowing you to pay utility bills, it was a great leap forward. Then came the ATM (automated teller machines). Suddenly there were a lot more people paying at the machine and a lot less tellers.

Hot on the heals of the ATM was paying bills by phone. In the last couple of years, paying the bills via online banking. Even fewer tellers were required, because fewer people were standing in line.

But if you didn't adapt to the ATM, or paying by phone, or to internet banking, you still need to go to the bank and stand in line. That's the core of the digital revolution and evolution. Things change. You either "get it" or stand in line.

Think about your job, your company, what you provide for a second. Can it be automated, digitized, made wireless, done by remote control, or put on the internet using broadband technologies? If it can, you have two choices. Either adapt or become extinct.

Considering the thousands of years of human history, it was only 101 years ago, that the first Ford Model A rolled off the assembly line. The Ford Motor Company was incorporated in 1903, and started trading on July 13th. On that day, the first three motor cars were sold. Now its a billion dollar industry. You don't see many horses on the road anymore.

In the same year, Wilber and Orville flew the world's first powered airplane at Kitty Hawk on Dec 17 1903. Orville flew the Wright Flyer about 120 feet, in about 12 seconds. Think about that, next time you sit in a multi million dollar jet, flown and totally controlled by computers. It was only 101 years ago. Now its a billion dollar industry.

If you ask Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft Corporation, "The Wright Brothers created the single greatest cultural force since the invention of writing. The airplane became the first world wide web, bringing people, languages, ideas, and values together."

Gee, imagine that, in just a few years, we've learned that the earth is not flat, how to fly, build and drive cars, and compress billions of transistors on the head of a pin.

I know the feeling of change. They laughed at me in 1988, when I told them the computer would revolutionize the graphic industry. They laughed at me in 1993, when I told them the internet was the most important communications tool since the printing press. They laughed at me in 1995, when I told them PDF would change the face of publishing forever.

As you can see, I get laughed at a lot. I'm always on the leading edge or leaping ledge as some people call it. But they're not laughing now. Especially those who lost their jobs, because they refused to adapt and change.

To people who say, "That's the way we've always done it around here. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. My granddaddy was a blank, my father was a blank, and I'm gonna be a... " What??? Unemployed? Untrainable? Unemployable?

Sorry, you either learn to manage change and embrace technology or get left behind. (At the very least, you'll be standing in a very, very, very long line up of other people that don't "get it" either.) Or better yet, ask yourself the question, "What will happen, if I don't change?" Hmmm, something to ponder.

Now before you go saying, "Yea it's easy for you!" No way dude! Computers didn't exist when I graduated high school. The ones that did used punch cards and filled entire floors of office buildings. Canada - where I live - switched to the metric system, throwing pounds, miles and gallons out the window. But I went back and learned computers and the metric system on my own. So what I'm trying to say is...

More and more, the quality our lives, and how much leisure time we have, will depend on how quickly we adapt and learn new technologies, to grow into them, and integrate them as part of our lives.

We will need to "wear" the technology, as information flows through and around us, from our homes, to our portables, to our cars, into the office, and as we freely walk about. (I just hope they have a good manual with plenty of pictures. ;-)

Look at all this amazing stuff in our lives; computers, remote control everything, robotics, digitizers, PVRs, wireless networks, camera phones, webcams, MP3 players, GPS systems, online banking, streaming video on demand.... my life is totally digital and there's no end in sight. I've read more user manuals in the past year, than I've read in the previous ten. I choose to adapt, rather than become extinct.

According to George F. Colony, CEO of Forrester Research, "In the future there will be no medium -- a piece of plastic or a spool of tape that will contain film or music content. The DVD is the last digital medium for film -- beyond it lies no medium.

Music or film will be just another pile of bits sitting undifferentiated alongside bank account statements, credit card information, voice mail, email, and other data that will freely slosh around in a consumer's life. There's no "there" there in the future."

Well, what about those people who don't want to learn new things, or are lazy, or think it's too hard? According to the IBM TV commercials. "Get it, or get in line." Sound familiar by now?

According to Dr. Spencer Johnston, "If you do not change, you can become extinct. Get out of your comfort zone and adapt to change sooner. Take control, rather than let things happen to you."

According to Forrester, "Stop the denial. Get over it, get on with it, figure it out. Or end up in the dustbin of history with sheet music publishers."

And speaking of music, everyone's heard about Apple's Music Store. For only a buck a song (you don't need to buy the whole CD) you can download only what you like, and immediately play it on your computer, or iPod MP3 player. With instant downloadable music and video on demand, could this be the end of the "record store" and "video rental store" as we know it?

And speaking of video, according to Forrester, nearly 1 billion internet users will have video by the end of 2005. Are you getting a head start on the competition? Can you grab even 1% of that market (10 million customers) if you start now?

Let me repeat something you've already read, "Stop the denial. Get over it, get on with it, figure it out. Or end up in the dustbin of history."

So am I telling you this to scare you, or make you nervous? Heavens no. I hope to inspire you. To look to the future for opportunities that other people will miss. Here is a metaphor that will explain what I'm talking about.

Is there a festival being planned in that park - down the road - near your home? I'll bet you could sell a lot of hot dogs and soda, if you got there first and set up your stand early. Sounds a little like what Mark Twain tried to tell us over 100 years ago, "Find out where the people are going, and get there first."

With all this new technology coming out, it's a wonderful time we live in, and the opportunities are everywhere. Heard about any new stuff coming out? Is that what your website is about? Are there affiliate programs you can join? Are you going to provide information and help people make their buying decision?

Hmm, helping people for a commission, sounds like a heck of a sustainable business model. Want to know whats coming? Start reading the news feeds. Particularly the technology and science ones. It's simple...

Go to your favorite search engine and look for an RSS newsreader. Download one and install it on your computer.

Then go to newsisfree.com and start subscribing to services like Forbes, Red Herring, CNET News & Personal Tech, ACM Tech, New Scientist, Business Week, Internetnews, Slashdot and Wired. You are about to discover the future and everything that is yet to come.

My advice is to spend your freshest time of the day, in the morning or whatever works for you, reading the headlines and any groundbreaking stories you are interested in.

Keep careful attention while reading the news. Be aware of what's happening around you. Take note of small changes and recurring stories. They're often a tell tale sign of things to come.

Change happens. And as I said at the beginning. Sometimes things change and are never the same again. Will you be ready? Will you learn how to read the handwriting on the wall, know when changes are coming, and cash in on them before anyone else. I bet you will now.


by Michael Campbell

Author of....

Revenge of the Mininet... Advanced search engine linking strategies and diagrams for increased revenue.

Clickin' it Rich... The complete work from home business training system for affiliate marketers.

Nothing but 'Net... Simple internet marketing strategy that made $750,000 in less than a year.

Internet Marketing Secrets Newsletter... Learn how to harness the money making power of multiple internet revenue streams like search engines, affiliate programs, paid advertising, opt-in email, newsletters, ebooks and lot more in Michael Campbell's free internet marketing secrets newsletter .

Posted: Sat - March 26, 2005 at 08:00 PM          





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