We all recognize the importance of change, but also need to consider volatility in affecting change.
Take the stock market, for example – it’s like a rollercoaster influenced by economic twists, social vibes, and market moods. Recently, in 2023, the S&P 500 went up 17% from January to July, then down 11% from July to October, only to bounce back up by 11% from October to November. Minimally, you should evaluate investing for short-term change or simply investing for the longer term.
Rapid Evolution in Our World
Our world is evolving fast. Technology, our tastes, and what’s considered normal are flipping markets on their heads. Leisure, travel, and entertainment are booming unexpectedly. Even the diet industry is getting a facelift thanks to new drugs helping people shed pounds. It’s a game-changer.
Social, political, and economic events are regularly disrupting our environment. From weather havoc to terrorism, it seems like endless crises.
Managing Unpredictability
How do we handle all this unpredictability? First, we’ve got to understand volatility and figure out how to manage it. When bridges suddenly collapsed in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, they were fixed in record time – thanks to clear goals, teamwork, and innovative solutions. We need the same approach for everything, from health issues as we age to dealing with climate events and political shake-ups.
Take our health, for instance. As the years pile on, it’s a good idea to play offense. Waiting for a health crisis to hit is like playing catch-up. Hitting the gym, eating a bit healthier, and throwing in regular checkups are like the MVPs in the game of avoiding health rollercoasters. Same goes for other bumpy rides, like dealing with the economy, wild weather, or political shake-ups.
Look at how we’ve been stepping up our game in handling weather drama like fires and hurricanes. It’s all about staying on top of things, being ready, and finding solutions. That’s the playbook we can follow for other curveballs that life throws our way.
Emphasizing Communication and Cooperation
Communication, coordination, and cooperation should be our priorities. Fire departments focus on safety and prevention rather than just enforcing laws. Why can’t we do the same for issues like crime, making things better between police and communities?
Rethinking Progress and Success While Being Aware of Bias and Risk
It’s time to rethink progress and success. We’ve made huge strides in areas like reducing smoking and drunk driving. Reviewing plans is important, but we need to do it together and be open to expert advice for better problem-solving.
Don’t forget about bias and risk: Bias is, perhaps, the biggest culprit in unreliable results. “It won’t happen to me” may be the greatest cause of unexpected volatility. Here’s the thing. We love to be right. We hate to be wrong. So, we will go to extraordinary lengths to make sure that we’re proven correct. And we won’t even know we’re doing it. Our brain, working surreptitiously in the background, doesn’t alert us too how biased we actually are.
Creating a Supportive Environment and Setting Specific Goals
Creating a supportive environment, both physically and socially, can help us deal with crises better. This includes a safe, productive and supportive physical space, along with social and businesses practices that are fair, consistent and understood can significantly add to the capability to deal with crises.
Getting specific with goals and solutions is key. We all get the importance of goals, but sometimes we spend too much time pointing fingers instead of finding solutions. Take a cue from success stories like fire safety and emergency highway repairs.
It’s all about staying open and analytical. Businesses need to understand their environment, learn from both wins and losses, and be open to new ideas. In other words, don’t be like Jack Nicholson saying, “You can’t handle the truth.”
Embracing Change for Better Solutions
In a nutshell, recognizing that change and ups and downs happen is the first step to tackling problems. We need tools to understand and predict change – just like we do with things like COVID and flu shots. Being prepared and understanding volatility will lead us to better solutions and alternatives.
Dr. Bert Shlensky, President of www.startupconnection.net, offers experience, skills, and a team devoted to developing and executing winning strategies. We guide your plans for business success and unlock your profits.Our strategy includes clear steps, and over 150 free articles and templates to facilitate your efforts and guide your process. We’re here to help you get on track and stay there as you move forward.
We welcome comments, suggestions, and questions. You can write us at: bshlensky@startupconnection.net or call at 914-632-6977.
Which line is longer? You may think it’s the middle line because the arrow points jut out. But the truth is, they are all the same size! You might not have figured it out if it was not pointed out to you. We tend to hang on to our initial perception of a situation or a problem, because we believe in deciding things as soon as we can. In some things, such as the belief that grandparents are allowed to spoil their grandkids, you will run into no arguments. But in other things, a little perspective can help immensely.
The economy has several measures of progress and each of us uses the one which support our perceptions of growth or decline A current trend since the pandemic illustrates how critical perceptions can affect our opinions and policies. For instance, income inequality is increasing as evidenced by the fact that 69 percent of the total wealth in the United States was owned by the top 10 percent of earners. In comparison, the lowest 50 percent of earners only owned 2.5 percent of the total wealth. and that many Americans don’t have $400 to pay for an emergency. On the other hand, the collective net worth of the bottom one-fifth went up from $3.3 trillion in 2019 to $4.2 trillion at the end of the second quarter of 2022, indicating they can finance a better lifestyle.
What is critical is that we understand our perceptions and their impact on our decisions, activities, and behavior.
A critical factor is our perceptions of the presenter, the environment and the communication. Licensing agreements, celebrity endorsements and great environments are all designed to make the audience comfortable with presentations, but we seldom acknowledge how they affect our individual behavior. It’s great to have a convention in Honolulu to present your ideas, but if everything about the presentation is solid, it should work just as well in Dubuque, IA or Nome, AK. Environment is important but it should supplement and enhance a convincing presentation, and not be used to make up for incomplete or inadequate data. For instance, a steakhouse can have the right look, but if the meat is not tender and does not deliver the expected flavor, no one is going to dine there after a while; they might find the local diner more appealing because you get what you are looking for in a meal.
Our perceptions frequently exclude key data or are based on highly uncertain information. While they are present in our environment and affect our decisions, we usually avoid consideration of issues like religion, intelligence, politics, wealth, sex, morality, and appearance in our discussions. Part of that is simply out of politeness, but it never hurts to take that into consideration when deciding on a course of action or a strategy to take. In contrast, we may express opinions about issues like climate change, politics, immigration, electric cars and artificial intelligence with insufficient knowledge or analysis. Again, we often let our initial perceptions do the analyzing for us. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are great football players, but do they really know so much about life insurance that you would automatically go with State Farm? One would hope you would do as much homework on which insurance company to go with as they did as to which insurance company to endorse! After all, they don’t want to waste their time and money either.
One of the most significant aspects of behavior is our perception of information. For example, I believe people don’t take enough risk. How much freedom do you allow innovative people to break rules? When do you provide support versus challenging subordinates and colleagues? While there may be analytical solutions to some of these, our predispositions are frequently more important in determining how we respond. But thinking outside the box, stepping away from perceptions, can lead to greater clarity. Risk does not always mean throwing a dart blindfolded; it simply means going against what you consider the norm, through research and analysis. Remember what Davy Crockett said:
Bias is critical issue in perceptions. Bias is one of the greatest complications when it comes to accuracy in the scientific analysis of decisions. This includes statistical problems like sampling, measurement, and development of information. For example, assessing Covid accurately is problematic due to varying demographics such as age, race, and other factors that convolute the analysis. In many cases, these can be understood, but are still challenging.
I also believe that social bias can be more impactful than statistical bias. This includes our preconceived perceptions and assumptions. I’m always amazed that many programmed employee selection tools outperform interviews especially in jobs requiring specific skills. Such tests remove things like unconscious age, sex, and racial discrimination. At the end of the day, you want the best person to handle the responsibilities you give them, and you want to remove anything that impedes that decision. Again, what seems like a risk has been whittled down to where the risk is minimal.
Cultural and environmental factors also affect bias. Dress, demographics, weather, location, and culture all affect perceptions in the decision-making process. These can also be used to your advantage in talking to colleagues by increasing bonding with similar people. Whenever I meet someone who is also from the Southside of Chicago, agreement on differences becomes much easier.
Style and personality greatly affect perceptions. Race, sex and age are the most common factors. Differentiating personality types like “right brain or left brain” or analytical versus creative greatly affects perceptions. For example, we greatly underestimate the positive or negative impact of using math in many arguments.
We also need to consider the timing of perceptions. In general, the audience, whether on the internet or in person, forms perceptions of a presentation in the first 90 seconds. That does not seem to be much time, but the right focus and the right keywords can get the train going and make for an exciting ride. Now, as an admitted nerd, my presentations can be a little boring. Thus, I try to improve their acceptance rate through tools like editors, comedy, stories, and pictures. I have learned the hard way that my poor spelling has sidetracked some of my best arguments. Thank goodness someone invented spellcheckers!
Let’s start a conversation – no matter what stage you are in with your business. As an exercise, tell us how you have better managed perceptions, or been victim to its bias. Then, tell us what areas you to need focus on in order to see improvement.
Dr. Bert Shlensky earned a PhD from the Sloan School of Management at M.I.T., mentored a few thousand clients at Score and his own practice, grew Sure Fit products from $ 50 million dollars to $150 million in sales including $ 60 million of direct internet sales, was President of WestPoint Pepperell’s Apparel Fabrics Business and headed the $400 million Culet Shirt Group.
In short, he knows what works and can help you lead your company to greater profitability and success. Find out more at StartupConnection.net, or email Bert at:
Having loyalty for a brand is one of most important features a business can have. It is passed down from one generation to the next. There is one particular business that has enjoyed such brand loyalty, even when performance has lagged: professional sports.
Professional sports leagues have been in the United States for over 150 years, and many teams can trace their lineage over the past two centuries. It began at a time when they were literally the only game in town: if you wanted to see a baseball game, you went to the stadium or the team closest to you; going to another city was almost impossible. That environment itself created brand loyalty in itself: the “old town team”. Thus, team loyalty could be passed from one generation to the next.
Now, we live in a world where we have access to essentially every team in every sport, so competition is greater than before. Every team’s game can be viewed for almost everywhere in the world. Many teams offer travel packages to see a game in their location live, since travel is easier. Putting up a sign at the local ballpark saying “Game Today” is not enough.
Here of examples of success in the sports world and how they can translate to the business world:
DEVELOPING A SUCCESSFUL BRAND CAN HELP YOU IF GOALS ARE NOT ALWAYS ATTAINABLE. The Dallas Cowboys have not won a Super Bowl in over thirty years, but have built a brand that is among the most well-known, and profitable, business in the world. It was begun by Tex Schramm, the Cowboys general manager, who put the team on high profile days such as Thanksgiving, added cheerleaders that became an attraction all their own, and made Dallas a recognizable destination for exciting football. These traditions have been carried on and expanded by the current owner of the Cowboys, Jerry Jones.
SOMETIMES CONSISTENT SUCESS IS NOT ENOUGH. The New York Yankees recorded their thirtieth consecutive season with a winning record, the longest current streak in American sports. Ask a Yankee fan how this past season went, and they will say it is a failure because they did not make the playoffs. A team like the Yankees, who lead their promotions by bragging about their past successes, can create such high expectations that consistent performance is meaningless. Many times, when a team achieves the ultimate success, an occasional failure is more tolerated. You have to be aware that the demands of your clientele may differ from similar businesses.
SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO TEAR DOWN TO REBUILD. You have to be afraid not to fail in order to succeed, because lessons can be learned from defeat. Many a franchise have allowed themselves to be disassembled and rebuilt from scratch, with the belief that brand recognition and loyalty will carry them through hard times, as long as there is a promise of better days ahead. This is known as a “rebuild”.
MAKE SURE YOUR WORK ENVIRONMENT IS APPEALING TO ENTICE A CASUAL FAN.
Having outstanding facilities can be a draw. The Dallas Cowboys created vastly modern stadiums twice in order to make their product more appealing: Texas Stadium in 1971, and Cowboys Stadium in 2009. The Baltimore Orioles opened Oriole Park at Camden Yards in 1992, known as a “retro stadium”, and almost every other team would follow suit with new stadiums over the next twenty-five years. These buildings create repeat customers by delivering enjoyable visits regardless of the final score.
Combining a good product, through research and development, with providing an enticing environment can result in a successful product, that may just lead to a championship. Reach out to use to help give you that championship edge.
Lawrence Miles is a writer living in White Plains, NY.His collection of essays can be found at https://lawrencemiles.substack.com, and it continues to grow.He is also a published poet, whose works have appeared in journals such as Maintenant #15, 2022 New
“If you aim for nothing, you’ll hit it every time.” These wise words from the famous author, salesman and motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, are precisely why we must set clear, specific goals. Nearly every plan, budget, and proposal start with goal setting and establishing focus. In business, the next recommendation is to make a profit. The rest of the plan then details the programs to achieve that end.
It seems simple enough, right? However, the process of setting goals is far more complicated and can facilitate the remainder of a planning process.
A key issue in developing business and personal goals are the parameters. Even in sports, where the general goal is winning, there are complexities. For example, the goal of minor leagues is more about preparing players for the majors than winning every game. And in little league, things like development, training, participation, and teamwork can be as important as winning.
Goals also operate within the context of other needs. What are the opportunity costs of other activities? What are the costs, investment requirements, and rewards of an effort? What are the social, legal, and environmental considerations? How important are issues like innovation, time, safety, culture, and the whole group in an effort?
Here are some recommendations to consider in developing goals:
Exploring and understanding profit can add dimension to your goal setting. There is more than one description of profit. Some include: long-term profit, short-term profit, cash, present value on investment, profit before or after depreciation, interest or other factors, and expected value discounted for risk. Understanding profit and investment requirements also differ for service, retail, manufacturing, technology and other types of companies.
To compare varying goals, let’s look at small business entrepreneurs and venture capital investors. The small business entrepreneur is mostly concerned with earning enough cash to pay bills and stay in business. (If you recall, 90% of small businesses go out of business within five years.) Venture capital firms are looking at multiple investments and expecting that enough will make significant profit in a few years to more than cover the unprofitable ones. Even the venture capital business has changed dramatically in the last few years. Initial investments are smaller and for shorter periods, profit expectations are more carefully reviewed, and growth expectations are more reasonable.
Measurement is a critical aspect of goal setting. What, when, how and criteria of how we evaluate an effort are critical in decision-making and goal setting. For example, we debate the potential and impact of a recession. However, there are several different ways to measure it such as length, type, impact, etc. Measurement can also be considered from an absolute or relative perspective. In little league, showing up is frequently considered excellence. Improvement from a weak team can also be considered excellence while winning a championship is expected from the best teams. So, knowing what your measurement parameters are is key. Consider cooking, for example. We know measurement is critical, but when a recipe calls for a pinch, dash, shake, and smidgen… what exactly does that mean? It seems like only grandmothers really get it right.
Don’t forget about bias. Bias is, perhaps, the biggest culprit in distorting the development of goals. For example, when evaluating performance, profit can reduce the importance of variables like quality, customer service, logistics, etc. Bias can also cause issues because many non-quantitative goals are more difficult to measure. For example, sports teams generally focus on winning rather than development, culture, or team concept, which may be more important. Look how many teams in various sports have failed by trying to hire super stars and ignoring other requirements for winning.
Timing and time parameters are crucial. Long-term versus short-term is the most frequent difference. However, periods of time are also important. For example, the stock market has been highly volatile in recent years. 2020 and 2021 saw significant gains, 2022 saw significant losses, and 2023 appears to be regaining much of those losses. Goals will vary depending on whether you need cash immediately, are saving for your retirement, investing for inheritance, or any number of other needs and the timeline they require.
Flexibility is key. Businesses are subject to more radical change and need to build adaptable mechanisms into their processes. As we face more uncertainty and instability, we need to focus on changing and simplifying processes to reduce the risks, and our goals must align accordingly. Strategies like pivoting and develop/test/measure/adapt need to be built into our organizations.Examine alternatives and change when necessary. Reevaluate a system that isn’t working and set new goals that will yield worthwhile measurements.
Human and cultural factors must also be considered. How important are excellence and change in our processes? How much innovation effort is in our programs? How complex or detailed are our goals? And keep in mind that customer, supplier, and employee satisfaction can dramatically affect results.
The debate of pursuing improved excellence versus change is affected by a number of issues. We need to understand how problems affected by goals versus tactics can require different solutions. The most frequent issue with change is insufficient support and operations. For example, excellence in quality, delivery, and customer service are even more important during periods of innovation. As change is inevitable, organizations simply need to understand their new environment and execute fundamental change.
Make goal setting a priority and communicate your goals to those involved. Be certain to understand the varying needs of different situations. Use clear and simple measurement tools, and be sure to utilize the process for improvement, rather than criticism. And remember, we set goals to make progress, and even if we don’t achieve what we set out to accomplish, we still end up further along than where we started. So, stay focused on your goals, make them work for you, measure your growth, and keep moving forward.
Dr. Bert Shlensky, President of www.startupconnection.net, offers experience, skills, and a team devoted to developing and executing winning strategies. We guide your plans for business success and unlock your profits.Our strategy includes clear steps, and over 150 free articles and templates to facilitate your efforts and guide your process. We’re here to help you get on track and stay there as you move forward.We welcome comments, suggestions, and questions. You can write us at: bshlensky@startupconnection.net or call at 914-632-6977
It happens to all of us. Suddenly we have more aches than normal, less energy, and our memory isn’t what it used to be… Getting older comes with both opportunities and challenges. And, if you’re in the aging population, you’re definitely not alone…
In fact, there are currently 55.8 million Americans who are 65 and older (up from 39.6 million in 2009). And this population is projected to reach 80.8 million by 2040 and 94.7 million by 2060. All but a tiny percentage of them live in non-institutional settings.
Since 1900, the percentage of Americans age 65 and older nearly quadrupled (from 4.1% in 1900 to 16% in 2019), and the number increased more than 17 times (from 3.1 million to 54.1 million). The older population itself has also become increasingly older. For example, there are almost 7 million people over 86 and the segment will continue to grow.
In the U.S., there are 73 million baby boomers between 60 and 80 years who have had a primary impact on our culture. And they have about $140 trillion in wealth that will be passed on in the next decade or so. While much of it belongs to the top 1%, it will still impact many lives.
Despite the size of this population, it seems they are frequently overlooked in many instances. Whether you fall into this category yourself, have a relative who does, or are just wondering how knowing more about this topic can create new opportunities for you or your business, there are a number of issues to consider.
For instance, one of the challenges of getting older is balancing the opportunities to live a full life with the demand of managing the needs brought on by aging. Some specific examples are as follows:
In the future, retirement will be increasingly dynamic. Older people will likely have different part-time gigs and find other ways to stay happy and engaged. For example, leisure and entertainment among the elderly will increase.
Many important aspects of old age are overlooked by Americans, such as transportation, increased health needs, social life, and small tasks that may be difficult or impossible. Older people are also more frequently targeted and vulnerable to scams.
The aging population is dramatically impacting our culture. Politicians, religious leaders, business leaders, etc. are all getting older. Thus, change, energy, and growth can all become more challenging. For example, approximately 47.5 million people worldwide have dementia—a number that is predicted to nearly triple by 2050. Our tools and willingness to identify and treat dementia are generally inadequate.
Getting older does not mean the end to fun, excitement, or other normal aspects of life. Physical touch, hugging, and even intimate relationships should not be discouraged. For example, an aid in a retirement home entered a room where a couple were enjoying a relationship. He left and asked his supervisor what should he do. The supervisor answered, “Be quiet, shut the door, and leave them alone.”
Goals for older people are evolving. On one hand many elderlies are living fuller lives and entering retirement homes later. On the other hand, for those whose health issues are more prominent, the shortage in remote care, home care, and social workers complicates matters.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can dramatically improve health, the aging process, and help us all live full lives. This includes exercise, not smoking, moderate drinking, improving diet, maintaining relationships, and avoiding stress.
A lot of planning, expenses, and decisions go into caring for an elderly family member. There is a tremendous need for both family and professional caregivers, especially when there are major health concerns. This may require a customized approach such as balancing healthcare decisions, care plan adherence, and medications. General tasks associated with the day-to-day care of a loved one can be stressful and expensive.
So, how does all of this impact you? Do you see any opportunities where you can make improvements personally or to your business?
The fact is we need to place more focus on how the 65+ population impacts our society, systems, and economy. In general, more management, awareness, and programs are required. As this population continues to grow, and because we’ll all eventually be a part of it, we should be properly equipped to deal with aging ourselves and knowledgeable on how this group thinks, acts, evolves, and affects our systems.
Dr. Bert Shlensky, President of StartupConnection.net, has an MBA and PhD from the Sloan School of Management at M.I.T. He served as the President of WestPoint Pepperell’s apparel fabrics business & President and CEO of Sure Fit Products. More than 2,000 clients have benefitted from his business acumen over the course of his long career. He now focuses on working with select startups and small businesses. For more information, please visit our website: https://www.startupconnection.net/
When you want to stand out, reach out to Bert for the tools that will build your “sticky” brand. My focus is on understanding and analyzing your dilemmas and challenges, so your company becomes profitable faster.
Call (914) 632-6977 or email me at bshlensky@startupconnection.net. Don’t leave without signing up for our useful free eBook!
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