146. The 4 Global Trends That Will Define Great Companies of The Future
Twenty years ago, most companies didn’t have websites. In fact, it was only 15 years ago when the entire Internet itself was still referred to as “new media”.
The world changes and businesses must keep evolving or risk insignificance.
Sears was once the largest retailer in the United States.
Polaroids were the fastest way to see a new photo.
AOL used to be the leading email provider, Netscape the top browser, Yahoo! the #1 search engine and the best way to watch a movie at home was to rent it from Blockbuster for 3 days.
In the infamous words of management guru Peter Drucker: “Innovate or die”.
Uniqueness Isn’t Unique
I originally started this paragraph with the sentence, “we are in a unique time.” But then I deleted it - and then I wrote it again to tell you that I deleted it, which doesn’t seem efficient, but it is where we are at this moment.
Saying that we are in a unique time is somewhat absurd. Not because it isn’t a unique time, but because every time is unique. Every era ushers in new changes. That’s the beauty - and challenge - of humanity, we are always evolving.
Changes are happening more rapidly in this era than they ever have in human history. As a caveat, I’ve only lived in this era so my basis for comparison is, shall we say, somewhat weak.
Suffice to say, things are changing fast. That means companies need to change fast if they want to thrive in the future.
The Four Most Important Global Trends
There are four global trends that have become so powerful, they will influence every single company moving forward.
That’s right - Every. Single. Company. will be impacted in some way. Some directly, some tangentially, but all will be influenced by these four trends.
The companies that embrace these four trends are the ones that have the best chance of being a great company of the future.
You ready? Great.
Here they are.
1. Company Culture
With a substantially larger remote workforce and an expanding focus on life/work balance, building a positive company culture is more challenging than ever — and more important than ever.
Job opportunities are no longer dictated by proximity to your house. Consequently, there are significantly more opportunities to find a job.
As I write this, there are over 691,000 remote jobs posted on LinkedIn and 234k remote jobs on Indeed.com
The natural result of this is that an office’s social communication is not as spontaneous as it has been in the past.
Company culture is no longer defined by free snacks and comfy couches in the corner of the office. It’s more complicated. And more important.
Great cultures require great planning.
The top talent of the future will naturally gravitate towards the companies that have the top culture. Just ask Nvidia, Hubspot, and Bain - they are amongst those setting the bar for the best company cultures.
2. Environmental Awareness
Our world is in trouble. That’s a fact. Your politics have nothing to do with it. Glaciers are melting, temperatures are rising, the ozone is depleting, and there’s lots of other stuff happening that’s leading to the destruction of our living environment.
Whether it’s through charitable efforts or company change, every great organization will be forced to focus on reducing its environmental impact.
Companies like Ford, Disney, Nike, and Hewlett-Packard are already amongst the big ones that have created meaningful environmental initiatives and are changing their companies to help change the environment.
3. Equality
Equality is a broad term and I mean it in every definition of the word.
Racial/ethnic diversity is the first definition that comes to mind and one of the most important. Great companies of the future will focus on racial/ethnic equality. As it turns out, some studies have already shown that such diversity is a driver for increased net revenue. Read this piece below to refresh your memory.
But equality is far more than just diversity. Equality also relates to the distribution of wealth. We are already seeing an increase in non-profit/charitable extensions of for profit companies.
According to Wonder, 85% of the largest enterprise companies in the United States now have year-round giving programs - a dramatic change from just five years ago.
Speaking of equality, did you know that there is enough food in the world to feed everybody and eliminate famine? The problem is not food, the problem is equality in the distribution of the food.
Equality matters.
4. Web3/Blockchain/Crypto
If you think crypto is merely hype or overpriced jpg’s, you don’t have the full understanding of what’s happening. There is an entirely new Internet infrastructure being built. It reminds me of the late 90s when companies like Google, Amazon, eBay and PayPal were just getting started - before they began to alter our very daily existence.
Every industry may not require decentralization in the future. However, the movement happening with blockchain, NFTs and crypto will still have an impact on every single company of the future.
Tomorrow’s great companies are educating themselves today about web3 so that they can make the best decision at the best time and not be left behind.
Tell me, what is your company doing about these four trends to ensure it is a great company of the future?
Even more, what are you doing to educate yourself about these global trends? What role will you play in the future?
I love hearing from you - and I love when you share this.
Quote
“Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity, not a threat."
- Steve Jobs
Tidbits
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Mr. Lucky. A guy wins major lottery prize four times (scratchy)
Another Useless Website. Just tell me the gosh darn time (worst clock ever)