Member Article

The Pace of Change

I met with a longstanding business contact of mine this week who has, over the years, become a mentor. During our conversation he said something pretty profound to me about the pace of change and the way he now decides on the strategy for his business and the businesses of those he advises.

In the 17thCentury an average business in Britain would see maybe two or three significant changes during an owner’s lifetime – perhaps a war, a change in taxation, or some competition. However for the most part the world was a pretty uneventful place.

During the latter half of the 19thCentury and the start of the 20thCentury the industrial revolution and the expansion of the United States had a fundamental effect. Britain’s economy changed from an agrarian to an industrial one. Still though people’s lives were stable and businesses did not really need to plan in a formal way.

Between 1914 and the end of the 1970’s we experienced two World Wars, two major world recessions and watched the Far East grow in importance. By 1975 our economy was in tatters. We all had to accept that our dominant position in the world had gone and that Europe was becoming far more important than the Commonwealth. During this 60 year period business saw more change than in perhaps the previous 250 years. It was at this point that UKPLC started to think about how to compete and business planning became critical.

To begin with these plans were very high-level. In many companies they just dusted off last years plan and changed the date. However by the early 1980s the plans were much more meaningful and covered two, five, or even ten year periods. The business planning habit was well-and-truly embedded.

Since the early 1970’s business planning has become the bedrock of successful businesses. The pace of change has not slowed down with further European integration, the digital revolution and the rise of China. If anything it has accelerated and it is incredibly difficult to predict what will happen in 12 months, let alone 5 years! Does this mean you should not have a business plan? Absolutely not! The difference is that you should be constantly reassessing your plan and it’s achievability. Whilst you may be able to remain fixed on your eventual goal, you will probably need to continually re-plan your route.

So the message is to have a goal and a plan to get you there but make sure that you check regularly that your milestones remain appropriate and achievable.

Phil Dibbs

Managing Director

Hawkmoor Associates Limited

www.hawkmoorassociates.com

www.twitter.com @hawkmoortweets

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Phil Dibbs .