Everything that can be invented has been invented. Charles H. Duell; US Patent Office (1899)
Airplanes suffers from so many technical faults that it is only a matter of time before any reasonable man realizes that they are useless! Scientific American (1910)
That the automobile has practically reached the limit of its development is suggested by the fact that during the past year no improvements of a radical nature have been introduced. Scientific American, January 2, 1909
This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us. A memo at one telegraph company, 1878
Democracy will be dead by 1950. John Langdon-Davies, A Short History of the Future, 1936
If you're looking for the next big thing, stop looking. There's no such thing as the next big thing. Nicholas Donofrio, IBM (2006)
Change:
What do all of the above quotes have in common? They were dead wrong. Think of all the inventions that have been made since 1899 when Charles H. Duell (Commissioner, US Patent Office) made his famous prediction. John F. Kennedy stated, "Everything changes but change itself."
Attending the recent Gathering of Eagles Business and Leadership Symposium, I listened to Steven Little as he spoke about change. Little spoke about how change creates both opportunity and a threat to the status quo. Little stated some startling facts about change. Here are a few of the facts he spoke about:
Of the 500 companies that made up the S&P 500 in 1957, only 74 still remained on the list in 1997.
In 1900 12% of the world's population lived in a city with a population of 1 million or more people. In 2020, 66% of the world's population will live in a city with more than 1 million.
In 1900 the average life expectancy of a female was 47 years. By 2020, women will have a life expectancy of 100.
Embrace change. It is going to happen whether you like it or not. Odette Pollar
Embrace change. True success can be defined by your ability to adapt to changing circumstances. Connie Sky
Look around you. Change is everywhere. The world is changing. China and India, the two largest nations in the world (population) are fast becoming industrial nations, producing many of the goods and services we consume. How does this affect me? Well, you can either fight change or accept change...because change is going to happen whether you like it or not.
Accept change:
To accept change we must be willing to admit that all change is not bad. In fact, most change is good - although we may not see it that way at first. Can you imagine what life would be like without air conditioning, TV, modern medical science, cell phones, or even our home computer? Many of these inventions help us see, hear, feel, and live better.
Adapt to Change:
"You're planning to make a ship sail against wind and tide by lighting a fire below deck?? I don't have time to listen to that kind of nonsense!" Napoleon Bonaparte to Robert Fulton
Technology is changing the world faster than it has ever changed before. I can remember my first computer, with the 5 1/4" floppy disc and dot matrix printer. Today my 2GB jump drive has more memory than my first three computers combined. If you are a student or if you work in an office can you imagine what life would be like without a computer? What about your cell phone, MP3 player, or digital camera?
To embrace change we must be willing to grow. To grow we must be willing to learn. To learn we must be willing to stretch our comfort zones. Business Leader, William Pollard stated, "Learning and innovation go hand-in-hand. The arrogance of success is to think what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow."
A Story of Change:
Almost everyone has heard of Nokia. It was started in Finland by Fredrik Idestam in the 1860's as a paper mill. At first the company struggled. In 1867 Idestam won a medal at the Paris World's Fair. Nokia's sales took off, and soon the company was shipping paper to Denmark, Russia, Germany, England, and France.
In the 1890's Nokia built a hydro-electric power plant near its first paper mill. One of its customers, Finnish Rubber Works soon became partners with Nokia. The two companies prospered prior to and during World War I. After the war Nokia acquired Finnish Cable Works. The company continued to prosper - but its real growth was in the cable works division. The cable portion of the business produced power cables, telephone lines, and telephone equipment.
The 1960's saw hard times for the huge conglomerate. Nokia, now over 100 years old, was focused on it's past. It was losing money, lots of it. (Note: any of the Big Three American automobile manufacturers could fit right in.) The company knew it would either have to change the way it did business or it would die.
A young executive, Jorma Ollila, was asked to take over the ailing mobile phone division of Nokia. He was so successful in turning the division around that he was appointed President and CEO of Nokia. He was challenged with turning the rest of this huge organization around. Ollila developed a game plan:
1. Focus the corporation's resources and efforts in the area of greatest potential - communications. It meant getting rid of what made the company successful in the first place: paper and rubber products.
2. Focus on the value of the company's human resources - Nokia established four corporate objectives - Customer Satisfaction, Respect for the Individual, Achievement, and Continuous Learning.
Ollila stated, "Continuous Learning entitles everybody at Nokia to develop themselves and find ways to improve their performance. And what's true for the individual is just as true for the company as a whole."
His game plan must have worked. Nokia, on the verge of extinction, is now a $20 billion dollar telecommunications giant.
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