thinking/critical

In the 1960s Marshall McLuhan – the modern media world’s most prescient cultural forecaster – said “we are always living way ahead of our thinking.” This article examines how that truth influences most business failure to successfully market products to customers.

Without the support of wild growth based on expansion, we must return to offering things of inherent, comparative value. Relationships are once again essential to business success. Relationships within the business, and relationships with the customers, vendors, and communities the business depends on. But has our understanding of relationship become superficial?

The difference between small and large business is a difference of scale. All the same things need to be done, from sales to service, from information management to product development, from ordering supplies to cleaning the bathroom. And don’t forget the taxman. It is no surprise that business owners find themselves far far from the activities that drive revenue and profits – and they don’t know how they got there. This small exercise could mean the difference between a day well spent, and a day sent down the well.

For those of us who are or aspire to be leaders, the choice must be about more than the increased paycheck. The choice must be about having a passion to lead, a belief that you can make a positive difference, and a willingness to be criticized, disliked, and argued with for the sake of progress.

Sure the economy is difficult. But you’re going to go to work anyway, right? So take a page from the independent retailers (booksellers, music stores, jewelry stores, video stores) who have thrived in the face of significant big-box retail competition. If you start viewing the difficult economy as if it were a difficult competitor, perhaps you can convert that helpless feeling of anxiety to a bout of righteous activity instead.