Despite rumors, Internet technologies are just starting

As a result of this column you and your organization will:

Ask, what would you want if you were the customer?
Ask, what could you achieve if there were no technological or organizational obstacles?
Fashion a new business model for the new age and assume that technological innovation will create opportunities for improvement.

Henry Ford and Thomas Watson, pioneers of the 20th century corporate world, had no idea of how much they would change the world, nor could they possibly foresee how the car and computer would transform our lives forever.

When the steam engine came along in the 19th century, some people scoffed at it and said, “There will always be a need for horses.” Others said, “This looks promising. Let’s invest in railroads, in companies that build locomotives and make products shipped by rail, and in the new communities built in the new territories.” Which side would you have been on?

Prior to creating a new future, businesses must assess the current situation. What value is offered, delivered and consumed that justifies your business’s right to exist? How is value created and who helps create it?

Despite the rumors, organizations continue to enjoy new Internet technologies while driving down the cost and speeding up the rate of processing, transmitting, and storing information. To provide an example, Robert Feldman, president of NewCoLabs noted, “The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) video-broadcasts live cooking tips all over the world and stores them for viewing on demand.” That ability has opened a whole new market for his company.

Almost every business process involves information in some form. Feldman was audio conferencing the Village meetings in his home town so anyone could listen “on line” and email questions to be addressed. “The cost of internet broadcast technologies has gone from thousands to hundreds of dollars so even small business can afford it,” said Feldman.

Just over the last several years, thousands of forward-looking companies have begun to use the Internet for some of their sales, often doubling sales of only a year earlier. Previously, nearly all were using the Internet to…

Buy supplies and services.
Recruit employees.
Research markets and industry trends.

As a result, we must all realize that the astonishing fall in the cost of transferring information around the world has become a powerful force for globalization. It’s not just the big companies that have an incentive and the means to arrange production globally in whatever mode is most efficient. Now, small companies can also reach a global market and “look” like big firms.

Feldman is also video-conferencing live, review classes in Washington to CPA candidates wishing to prepare for the exam all over the country. The Internet makes all kinds of work better because it increases access to information, thereby fostering new decision-making processes and tools. Even the smallest businesses or a single individual can use the Internet for research and education.

The fact of the matter is that the Internet speeds up the dissemination and adoption of new techniques.
As computers grow ever more powerful, the Internet becomes more powerful and it becomes easier to design new products.
Wider competition increases the pressure to innovate.

The Internet also allows companies to connect teams of designers or engineers in different parts of the world, enabling them to hand off work to each other and use time zones to accelerate research and testing.

This unprecedented combination of qualities explains why the Internet is affecting business life more profoundly than any previous technology. But, the greatest benefits will come only to the organizations that have the right people and the right structure.

However, the Internet has an obvious limitation. It is not responsible for the final outcome. As a result, organizational business leaders will need strong skills with emerging technologies, and they will have to position their workforce with lifelong education and training to keep up. The “Business Internet”…you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

This article is provided by Joe Murtagh, “The DreamSpeaker™” www.TheDreamSpeaker.com. For keynotes, facilitation, workshops, consulting and questions or or a free report on The 3 Most Common Mistakes Organizations Make, email us at Joe@TheDreamSpeaker.com or call 800-239-0058.

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