I often ponder on this and ask myself why should this supposed good life we had 20 or so years ago, seem so much better than the present life we have, despite all the technological and sociological advancement. If you think about it keenly, 20 years ago, life was very different from the kind of life that we have today. For one thing, there were no cellphones to keep in touch with all your friends and business associates no matter what time of day; no laptops, Ipads or Galaxy devices to keep you updated on your social circles, and definitely no wifi. I don’t know about you, but I keep asking myself, how a life without wifi, cellphone, and portable hard drive would be like. I think terrible, absolutely terrible.
If my grandfather gets to read this, he will probably think I am a spoiled brat, but let’s face it – we are all spoiled brats in more ways than we realize. Many of us cling to our cellphones as if our lives depended on them. Its the last thing we look at just before we go to bed and tuck it neatly under our pillow or place it at the bedside table, and when morning comes it becomes the first thing we reach out for – most of the times to switch off the alarm.
Change is inevitable and always takes dynamic forms and ways and this lesson is invaluable for businesses. Many people who start businesses and see them succeed, see their businesses disappear into oblivion after a while because they refuse to adapt to the changing environment. A change in environment may mean a shift of customer preferences, a change in tastes, or a change in technology. Standing stiff against new advancements will cost you steeply in more ways than you can imagine. A good example would be – if the firms in your industry accept and adapt to a particular technology, because it has been proven to make processes faster and more economical. If you ignore this technology, it will give them an edge over you, and thus give them a definite advantage.
The mentality of the “good old days” nostalgia is a common attribute of many entrepreneurs, many of whom belong to the older generation. It is usually triggered by arrogance and fear at the same time. Arrogance of believing they have the best business process out there, since that is what got them to where they are today. The fear is mainly caused by the feeling that they may become a zero in an industry where they once dominated. These two reasons affect all the industry players across all boundaries, and thus one should try and be open to change and new ideas.
You should however note, that this doesn’t mean that you should let go of all your memories and experiences from these nostalgia filled days – after all, they are what makes us what we are today.
