Human beings are, from an evolutionary perspective, not
well-equipped to deal with danger and change. We are not particularly fast or
strong. We have no special ability to ward off danger (like thick skins,
shooting poison from our fangs or a special camouflage) and all we can rely on are our minds.
But we are failing miserably to use our only evolutionary
protective mechanism.
Knowledge has been democratised and education is being
de-institutionalised. The last barrier to fall is the idea that
teachers/trainers hold the ‘keys to the kingdom’. When they abandon formal
assessment, and the industrial notion that knowledge can be certified, then
real progress will happen.
- People no longer believe what journalists tell them
- People no longer buy what you sell them.
- People no longer go where you lead them.
- People no longer learn what you teach them.
This means there the death of the journo, the
salesmen/marketers – and also the leaders and teachers who physically,
psychologically and intellectually see themselves as rightfully ‘owning’ the
front of the class.
As usual, at the edge of change, chaos rules. The world is
evolving into something that we are not ready for and do not have the answers
for. Will people be willing to give up ‘qualifications’? Increasingly they
will. It has never been a prerequisite to success and now (thanks to the
internet) we all know it – and fact many of these people are our heroes. The
cachet of a paper seal has evaporated. Recently Peter Thiel (PayPal founder)
paid 20 young people $100K
to quit college.)
We have seen the nascent trend of a ‘non-training-approach’
to learning. It is still struggling to define itself, and if it does not hang
itself in a forest of jargon, we are onto something: integrating the knowledge of doing with the act of passing it along in
the process of working.
As you may expect, we have a technology
that enables people to learn socially (from each other). There is a technology
platform for everything! The uptake is slower than expected. Organisations (HR)
want to ‘control’ theses interactions with a set syllabus, but little do they
realise that the conversations are happening anyway: people are talking and
learning from each other as they always
have; but now they have the tools to bypass the traditional gatekeepers and
access the relevant knowledge from a source and a time and pace that suits
them.
Which brings us to the Retail Revolution.
As you well know, many retailers are struggling – maybe
including you. And if you want to successfully evolve, we have to start using
our brains – in particularly our collective minds.
In every business there are frustrated employees who KNOW
the answer and who may even be willing to share it with you. The reasons why
they don’t are obvious:
- They don’t like or trust you
- They are disengaged and passive
- They don’t feel empowered to
share and contribute
- They are unskilled/ feel
unequipped
- There is no opportunity/
mechanism to share and contribute
- You don’t ask
The confronting truth about all if this is that YOU are to
blame if these symptoms pervade your business. Sorry to be the bearer of bad
news but there really is no one else to blame.
Our only evolutionary advantage is our brains. If we don’t
use those to proactively adapt to these evolutionary pressures, we will become
extinct because the forces of change cannot be held at bay, we can only adapt.
Every successful organisation comes about because of the
collective minds within that organisation applying themselves to the tasks at
hand. The journey of success for your organisation starts when you get all
those minds working together towards a common goal.
And for you to start down that path, you should let go of the idea that you and only you
have the answers or are supposed to have all the answers.
‘Crowdsource’ your solutions from the people that have the
most at stake – your employees and I guarantee that, if you have recruited
well, you will be mightily surprised.
Have fun.
Dennis Price
Future-proof your business with Ganador
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