As I sit here today and reflect on 25 years ago, I remember that the lead dog in the retail land was a little company called Sears or Sears and Roebuck for those old enough to go back that far. They were the undisputed leader and that was in pre-Google times! Much has changed since then. In the last 10 years Sears was bought out by another failing retailer by the name of K-Mart and few would question that they will ever return to their glory days.
Along came Wal-Mart… they are now the leader of the pack. Wal-Mart leveraged small markets and quietly became the largest retailer on the planet. They show no signs of slowing down! Even Wal-Mart has done a poor job of talking about what they do. The average train of thought is that everything they sell is made in Japan, Korea or China when in fact less than 10% of what they sell comes from other countries. Most of what they sell is made in America but you’d never know that. Things like food are almost all from America! It seems that Wal-Mart is here to stay as the lead dog in retail for the rest of our lives. I don’t think that anyone cleared that idea with Jeff Bezos from Amazon even in light of their current issues.
Amazon started as a small online book seller and not much was said about them other than the fact that they were losing money and would soon disappear from the landscape. That message was never received by Bezos. Amazon continued to lose money on every book they sold and they parlayed that into a retail beast that Wal-Mart will have to reckon with. Amazon is a company that was able to get the Post Office to start delivering packages on Sunday using non-post office staff driving Post Office vehicles. This is a huge advantage over Wal-Mart and I just learned that the Post Office is going to start delivering groceries via the Amazon platform! While people may hate the Post Office studies show that most people love their letter carrier. Amazon working with the USPS is an example of buying credibility. Amazing!
How does this equate to what each one of us does on a daily basis? Simple! What Sears, Wal-Mart and Amazon bring to their customer matters to that unique person or cross section of buyer. What does the buyer of your product actually expect to be delivered and how can you add to that in an effort to amaze? Steve Jobs changed the game with the iPad and iPhone and sadly he passed opening the door for Samsung. Samsung saw what Jobs did and created a hybrid of a phone and a tablet called a “Phablet”. Samsung now leads the industry in this category. I have no doubt Apple would have arrived here first with Jobs in the picture. Jobs isn’t and Samsung is the gold standard with Apple in the odd role of playing catch-up. How can you redefine yourself, change and enter this game?
I know that if you have the identical business today that you had 3 years ago you are dying! Things change too fast and too dramatically for any of us to remain the same. If you are a general car repair you need to start the transition to Hybrids because they are the rage. If you sell insurance you better sell financial investments as well. Work in heating and air conditioning and you had better sell Solar, insulation and lighting or you are going to get passed by. In other words you need to stay informed and respond to trends… and trends change! To survive and thrive in the years ahead you are not only going to have to change, you are going to have to be comfortable with change. Change is where the opportunity lies and where you will need to live.
Last week I referenced the book “The Slight Edge” where he writes that doing little things to succeed are easy to do and easy to not do. Reading 10 pages of a good book every day is easy to do and easy to avoid. Just like listening to 15 minutes of good content on your car stereo or exercising for 20 minutes 3 times per week. These things are all easy to do and scary easy to not do. Investing in your own success is the gold standard today and even a small investment will create a big result. The people I work with that are doing the best are the ones that are pushing daily and staying in a position of being uncomfortable. A lack of comfort at some level today creates massive comfort down the road and the reality is that most people who retire become lost, dead or start greeting at the local Wal-Mart. If you think retirement sounds good I would invite you to visit the same local donut shop 5 days in a row take note of the people there. They share the same stories daily, the same pictures daily and you can almost see them age during your week of observation. A truly sad waste of talent and experience.
I know a man who sold for Hilton Vacations for years. He made great money and loved what he did. His friends begged him to retire and join them and he did just that. He went bat shit crazy within a year and had to get back in the game of sales. It took him a while but he did it on his terms. I’m convinced he is happier than ever. He changed several times in a little bit and it served him. It will serve you as well if you let it!
Get comfortable with change. I promise it’s here to stay! Change everything that seems reasonable. Exercise, read something that fosters growth, take your spouse or kids out to dinner with no cell phone for anyone, mentor a child (possibly your own) and decide that this is your time. Statistically there will be 10 people at your funeral that will cry so what the hell? Make some mistakes and change some things! Call me, I can help!