What if you are looking at the future from a wrong perspective? And what if this misguided view results in decisions that put your organization at risk?
Time is passing quickly; we are closer to 2070 than we are to 1970. I was just a little kid in 1970, but it seems like yesterday in some ways. I can remember enough to know that the world has changed a lot since then, and I am sure it will change even more between now and 2070.
The impressive technological advancements of the past half-century will pale compared to the developments we will see over the next 50 years. And even though change is scary for most folks, many organizations are preparing for future developments. At Correct Craft, the company I lead as CEO, we are constantly scanning the horizon to identify and monetize global trends. We have spent millions of dollars researching and implementing initiatives related to electrification, IoT, mixed reality, 3D printing and robotics.
We are not alone; many others are examining the available information and trying to predict what changes should be embraced to protect their organizations and prepare for the future. This is important for any organization.The business landscape is littered with stories of companies that did not embrace change and either went out of business or became fragments of what they used to be.
But what if primarily focusing on future change is a trap that blinds leaders to another important view of the future? What if only looking for things that will change takes the focus off some things that will never change? I have recently considered our organization’s future through the lens of what will stay the same. Correct Craft is in the recreational boating business. Here are some things that won’t change for us.
Water is healing – My late friend “Wallace J. Nichols wrote the seminal book on the power of water, Blue Mind. Nichols spent years researching the power of water, ending up with a doctorate and a powerful book along the way. The book is full of detailed research supporting Nichols’conclusions. (It’s worth a read.) However, a quick synopsis of the book is that being in, under, on or near the water is incredibly healing. That’s not going to change.
Relationships are valued – I have shared many stories of spending time in our boat with my daughters as they were growing up. I believe part of the reason I have a strong relationship with them that continues today is a result of the hours we spent together boating. People expect me to say this, but I honestly believe that the best way to invest time in folks who are important to you is boating. Relationships are an important part of a fulfilled life. That’s not going to change.
People create success – If I have learned one thing in my career, it is that success results from being on a good team. In fact, if I have had any success during my career, it is because I have been surrounded by good people. When we have a problem to solve, I often say, “It is not how, but who.” If you want to accomplish a lot, the most important way to do that is to be surrounded by outstanding people. That’s not going to change.
Product drives everything – When I arrived at Correct Craft near the end of 2006, the most prevalent comment I heard was that our product was on a poor trajectory. I took these comments seriously and must have told our team a thousand times: “Without good product, nothing else matters.” Our team embraced this idea, and within a short amount of time, we were building indisputably outstanding products. We still do, 18 years later. If you don’t have great products or services, it really doesn’t matter how good you are at anything else. That’s not going to change.
Brands are built with stories – Brands are not built by advertising or clever social media posts alone, though they can be part of the formula. The company I lead as CEO is nearly a century old and has an extraordinary brand built on stories. My book Making Life Better: The Correct Craft Story shares such anecdotes as the “miracle production” of boats, which helped the Allies cross the Rhine River and win World War II. It includes stories like the time the company refused to pay a bribe to a government inspector who put us into bankruptcy, and then the company spent 20 years paying back the creditors. Recent stories include how our team uses the Correct Craft platform to help those in need all over the globe. Brands are built with stories. That’s not going to change.
The unexpected will happen – A quick review of the last century teaches us that something significant and unexpected happens every decade. In the last 100 years, businesses have been impacted by World War I, the Spanish flu, stock market crashes, the Great Depression, WWII, the influenza pandemic of the late ’50s, social unrest in the ’60s, oil embargo, stagflation, recessions, multiple gulf wars, the dot.com bust, 9-11, the Great Recession and the Covid pandemic. At Correct Craft, we do all the typical risk assessments you would expect from a billion-dollar company. But for us, more important than trying to predict what will happen is understanding that “something” we don’t expect will definitely happen. We may not be able to predict precisely what it will be, but we know something unexpected will occur. That’s not going to change.
I called my paternal grandfather Pap — the same name my granddaughter uses for me — and while he was by most standards a simple man, he was full of wisdom. He taught me about the importance of hard work. He used to say things like, “It’s not what you make that matters; it’s what you save” and, “Just because someone spends money doesn’t mean they have money.” As I look back on a lifetime of lessons I learned Pap, my parents, bosses and many others, it becomes clear to me that many of the most important things don’t change.
As leaders, we must look for future trends that will impact our organizations, but let’s not forget the things that will stay the same. A successful future will require understanding both future trends and the important values of the past that will always be the same. That’s not going to change.
Bill Yeargin is CEO of Correct Craft and the author of six books, including the best seller Education of a CEO.
