Change is in the air.....

So what if I told you back in 1985 that you should pony up $5,000 and buy some stock in a new company named Microsoft? Then in late 1999 I tell you sell it all (if you haven't already cause at that point you are a multi-millionaire thanks to me!) and you cash out right before the dot-com bust? What if in 1975 I told your parents that within a short number of years Sears would no longer be the giant of retail stores & that catalog would stop coming to your house? I would have been laughed out of the room.

I am using some pretty good examples of a changes in direction that happen sometimes pretty quickly in the USA. You could really benefit financially if you get things like the above right. Problem is they are all very easy to see after the fact...not before. But the true pioneers are the ones who spend the time to see it and make the change before it is understood by the rest.

I spent most of last week in Louisville developing new ways to help our customers be more successful. We looked at the challenges & changes our industry (agricultural media) will face and what it will look like for our company, Fastline, in the next few years. The big challenge for all of us is to not only have incredible foresight...but when you do have it figured out, CHANGE. I think that is the killer for most companies..they see the vision and just can't pull the trigger either because of fear or just plain "that's too difficult".

I'm glad I work for a company that is willing to invest time and talent to think about where we are, where we are going, and oh and by the way, how do we get there? One thing is for certain, watching your competitors figure out the change before you just plain sucks!