As we all know everything has changed since the financial collapse of 2008, but how exactly have businesses changed? I'm going to break it down to its simplest form in this "old school vs. new school" post. Alright, here we go! (seasonally appropriate colors are a coincidence)
Old school: Profits above everything else. New school: Triple-bottom line (Economic, Environment, Social).
Old school: Keep business units separate. New school: Integrate cross-functional teams.
Old school: Large capital investments (infrastructure, people, resources, assets, etc.). New school: Bootstrap.
Old school: Pleasing shareholders is the be-all-end-all. New school: Equally pleasing shareholders and stakeholders.
Old school: Very few industry players. New school: Ultra-competitive across industry.
Old school: Focus on short-term goals and gains. New school: Focus on long-term sustainability.
Old school: Put all eggs in one basket. New school: Have multiple baskets.
Old school: Productivity measured by how long/how many hours worked. New school: Productivity measured by how much you get done.
Old school: When facing declining profits -- cut, cut, cut, no matter what (mostly employees). New school: Do what you can to keep the team in place.
Old school: Vertical hierarchical structure. New school: Horizontal organizational structure.
Old school: Money flows up to executives at the expense of employees. New school: Money still flows up, but in a more balanced way.
Old school: High barriers of entry. New school: Low barriers of entry.
Old school: Control of consumer behavior. New school: Consumers have the power.
Old school: Cold calls. New School: Social Media.
Old school: Huge slow moving entities. New school: Lean and agile.
Old school: Mimic successful traditional business models. New school: Disrupt.
Old school: Move slowly when making business decisions. New school: Adjust and implement on the fly.
Old school: Managers and Execs have all the power. New school: employee empowerment.
Old school: Traditional Advertisements (TV, Print, Billboards, etc.). New school: Social Media, Blogs, Online videos, Mobile, Podcasts, etc.
Old school: Power/Control economy (control every aspect of business). New school: Sharing economy.
Old school: Heavy investment in human capital. New school: Automate.
Old school: Cubicles. New school: Open.
Old school: Work harder. New school: Work smarter.
There are definitely more differences between businesses of today vs those of 10, 20, 40 years ago; however, these are the main ones I could think of off the top. Obviously, each should be defined further but that can be done by researching the internet, going to a top business school, or hiring a consultant. I do understand that few things in business still remain: bring in more than you spend, bottom line, good/great leaders, innovation, customer service -- to name a few.
If you have any others that I have missed, feel free to list in the comments section. I'm curious to hear what others think.
Until next time.
ModernManTellsAll
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