Leadership – Learn from the Past, Thrive in the Present and Plan for the Future

True leaders learn from the past, thrive in the present and plan for the future.  Too many leaders focus on one or two of these elements, but not all three.  Without the proper balance, it is more difficult to get where you want to go.

Learn from the Past

Winston Churchill once said “Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.”  I believe this is true.  When you ask leaders why you do something a certain way, it’s alarming to hear “Well, we’ve always done it that way.”  That answer begs the questions the following questions.  “Is it still the right way to do it?” or “Is there a better, more efficient and cost effective way to do it?”  It is very easy to fall into the trap of continuing to do things a certain way because of process deficiencies or technological limitations.  If your ERP system can’t do what it needs to in order to move your company forward, then maybe it’s time to look at a new ERP system.  I know it’s expensive and painful.  I’ve lived through a few ERP system migrations.  If you live in the past, you will stay in the past.  The past is a great teacher for the present and the future.

Before large screen, high definition video, new car announcement shows often used large screen, multi-projector synchronized slide shows.  The images were crisp and clean, and with the images synchronized to powerful music, it was a sight to behold.  I know because I used to program them earlier in my career when I was in Cleveland and Detroit.  When large screen, high definition video became a reality, the market for multi-media slide shows quickly died.  Companies that had built their businesses on 35mm photography for these shows, slideshow creation, and multi-media programming either had to morph into something else or go out of business.  At the time, many of those businesses said that this high definition video thing was just a fad.  Tell that to Sony, Samsung, Vizio, Panasonic and LG.

Great leaders understand their company’s history and learn from past failures so they don’t repeat them.

Thrive in the Present

Thomas Edison probably didn’t wake up one day and say to himself “Hey Tom, we need to invent a light bulb today.”  He looked around in the present, saw the need for something that didn’t exist and found a way to make it.  It wasn’t easy and he failed more than he succeeded, but it was through the failures that success was born.  There were other sources of light before the light bulb was invented, but he saw the need to innovate and create something better.

Let’s talk about breakfast for a minute.  When I was growing up, it was common for families to go to a restaurant like Big Boy, Denny’s or Bob Evans to have a nice breakfast.  In 1972, McDonalds introduced the Egg McMuffin and five years later, a full breakfast menu.  The breakfast landscape changed.  Today, coffee, donut and other fast food chains like Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, Taco Bell, and Burger King are all getting deeply into the breakfast food market.  Not to be out marketed, McDonalds decided to offer an All Day Breakfast Menu in October 2015. Keeping your eyes on your existing competitors and watching for new ones is always on the mind of effective leaders.

Great leaders are aware of the business landscape of the present, know who the competition is and what needs to be done to compete and grow. Sales and revenue growth are important, but so is creating a working environment that draws the best talent that is out there.  Creating a workplace that is safe, fun and emphasizes a great work-life balance is critical. Customers like to do business with happy people.  Making employees happy today will make your company thrive tomorrow.

Plan for the Future   

Great leaders are future thinkers.  They don’t just look at where they have been or where they are, but they know where they want to go and have a plan to get there.  Although you can’t always predict where technology might take you, or what is going to happen in a global marketplace, you can decide how to get there today and make adjustments to your plan as the technology and business markets become more defined.  Did Blockbuster see the evolution of VCRs and Betamax to DVDs?  Did they see that the corner brick and mortal stores were going to be replaced by Redbox vending machines and streaming movies from Netflix, Amazon Prime and various flavors from different on demand channels?  No.  When that title wave came, they had too much invested in brink and mortar stores, they couldn’t recover quick enough.  Dish Network purchased Blockbuster in 2011 and by 2013 the brick and mortar stores were closed.  In 2015, “Blockbuster@Home” was renamed “Dish Movie Pack”.  As innovative as Blockbuster was in the early 2000’s, they didn’t see that technology would quickly overtake them.

Be honest, did anyone think 20 years ago that computers could be smaller than an 8 ½ x 11” pad of paper or that you could watch your favorite TV show, movie or sports team on your phone or you can listen to music on a device that is smaller than a pack of gum? Did anyone think that Dick Tracy’s wrist phone or Marty McFly’s hoverboard from Back To The Future II would be real? You might not be able to predict exactly what future technologies will be, but you can predict change and innovation.  It’s coming.  Be ready for it.

Learning from your past and not repeating the same mistakes is one leg of the stool.  Thriving in the present including understanding your marketplace, competitors and making your company a great place to work so your employees pass that enthusiasm onto your customers is the second leg of the stool.  Planning for the future by be being aware of technologies, domestic and global markets that will impact your business is the third leg of the stool.  You need to use all three to be an effective leader.

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Photo credit:  http://vividscreen.info/pic/future-present-past/19169/for-800×600