We’re all guilty of it. We get stuck and focused on the day-to-day. The farthest we look ahead is tomorrow. We’re so busy putting out today’s fires and focusing on what needs to be done today that we fail to look down the road and plan for the future. We know it could cause problems down the road, but we fail to change. We slog to work the next day and do what we need to do to get to the next day, and so forth.
Think about it: most top business leaders do not succumb to day-to-day thinking. They’re visionaries. They see what’s coming in the future long before it gets here and prepare accordingly. Thus, they are ahead of the curve.
The other day, I read a headline stating that the recent Boeing 737 Max jet crashes could raise questions about autonomous technology and whether we’re ready for it. Autonomous cars seem so far off yet…but are they? Will we be prepared? We won’t be if we get stuck in today.
How do we get unstuck? When was the last time you held a staff meeting focused on what the shop might look like in five years? Ten years? What challenges are coming down the road, and what equipment and training will you need to handle them? You probably think you’re too busy, but the first step is to set aside the time for such a meeting.
Don’t let the future smack you upside the head when it comes roaring through your front door. Address it now, prepare yourself and be the market leader you’ve always wanted to be.
