Recently I have been getting invitations to speak at industry conferences and company meetings. What’s really interesting is many of these are not even in the wireless industry. It seems other industries and companies are starting to realize wireless is going to play a major role in their growth and success going forward. And they are also realizing they don’t have a clue how to wrap their arms around this new beast.
Over the last few decades my name has become pretty well known in the wireless and telecom arena. However, that world is expanding thanks to the changes and expansion in the wireless world. Speaking is one way to talk with new audiences and sprinkle some magic dust among the minds in the audience of the changes to come.
At a recent event, someone said I’m like Johnny Appleseed, throwing seeds that will grow into wireless apple trees as I talk from coast to coast. While I never thought of myself in those terms, I can understand what they are saying, so wear that moniker like a badge of honor.
Wireless Internet is a change agent
Everything is changing. Every industry. Every job. Every technology. Every company. Everything in our life. It’s all changing. Wireless is only one area in that world of change. However, wireless and the Internet may be the most important area because it is the foundation for this entire new world we are currently building.
Everything uses wireless and this is an area that no company has ever looked closely into before except for managing all their smartphones. Going forward, companies will be using wireless and the Internet to drive growth in their business and to manage everything.
Wireless, Internet and IoT are opportunity and threat
Wireless technology, the Internet and IoT, or Internet of Things, are transforming everything. They are changing the way we communicate with workers, customers, prospects, partners, everyone. They are changing the way we manage and distribute information. They are simply changing the way business is done. And we are just in the early stages of this new revolution.
This is one of those moments in history where you have a choice. You can either jump in and be an early adopter and create the playing field, or you can follow a few years from now. However, don’t think you can simply ignore this opportunity and threat. You can’t.
You are either going to be an early adopter taking the arrows, or you will be a follower. If you think you will sit this one out, think again. This is a major transformation and your customers will love it going forward. So much so that if you are not a player, you will fail tomorrow. Period.
Are you excited or do you push back?
Sometimes the audience understands and is very excited. Other times they push back thinking I am making a mountain out of a molehill. Unfortunately, I can’t make the decision to look forward for everyone. All I can do is stand on my mountaintop and shout. It’s up to each of us to pay attention.
I have given so many speeches over so many years and have always shouted at the top of my lungs about the opportunities and threats ahead of us all. Years ago I warned Blackberry, Nokia, Motorola and others that they were missing the shift and would be in trouble if they didn’t change. They didn’t listen.
Music, newspapers, books
Also ,I have focused on the areas of change that transform industries as we know them like the music business, newspaper business, book business and so on. The rules are changing for every industry. Rules for profitability are changing. We have seen this happen in many industries over many years.
The music industry changed. It is no longer a way for artists to make money. Fair or not, they basically give their songs away over the Internet and make money with live tours. The newspaper and magazine business reached it’s peak a decade ago. Today it’s a shadow of it’s former self.
Now the same thing is happening with the book publishing business. It started with Amazon.com putting bookstores out of business selling over the Internet. Then they expanded to eBooks, which customers can download instantly. This new realm of competition is transforming the book business the same way it transformed the music business.
However, authors can’t travel and do live concerts to earn a living. So basically the author who was earning a living until last year is suddenly not because of the new rules set up by Amazon.com and others.
This is short-sighted on Amazon.com’s part because if they hurt the author community, they will not have anything new to sell in the next few years.
Authors don’t have a union powerful enough to stand up to and fight the changes that are hurting them today. You would think that authors would be flourishing with technology that delivers eBooks over the Internet. They should be, but they are not. Not anymore.
Every few years the world changes and it is getting harder for an author to earn a living on services like Amazon.com. Barnes and Noble, Apple and others.
I have author friends who tell me horror stories about how the business is ripping into their ability to simply earn a living. Don’t Amazon and others understand they should encourage authors to make money. That way they will keep giving them new supply to market.
At this pace this will drive authors away from writing at all. If the current pace continues, how will authors earn enough money to remain authors? After all they can’t travel the country and make money giving concerts. All they can do is write.
Changes help and hurt
That’s why the changes that we see occurring are not always well thought out. The right hand does not know what they left hand is doing. Authors tell me they earned a good living until the last year or so when Amazon.com made changes. Now they are struggling. That should be very clear the current path is wrong.
Is this the smart way to build your industry or your business? Why would a company want to hurt their own future? Sometimes companies are so focused on competing and winning that they lose track of the important parts that will keep them growing.
Misguided fire
Change is both helping and hurting book and eBook publishing, the music business, newspapers, magazines and other industries as well. Unfortunately, this misguided fire will continue to shoot companies in the foot, over and over again, and tear apart the rules which industries operate under.
Wireless and the Internet and the IoT are the most important, core areas going forward. Except we should not assume they will continue to grow and roll out well. We are seeing too many problems being created for every new solution and hot new idea.
This new path will create a few new leaders, but will decimate the rest of industry after industry. In that world, companies must be early adopters or at least followers. If not, their future is limited and their growth potential is cut off at the knees.
And what about tomorrow? Will we still have music makers, story tellers and authors going forward? Not if they can’t earn a living doing so. Are we cutting off our nose in spite of our face?
