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Liking Irrelevance Less

One of my all-time favorite quotes, it is not my top all-time favorite quote but it’s up there with about three others. I like this quote a lot because it is refers to the one thing that I talk about. I mean I harp on it. I beat it down and try to cram it down people’s throat. I do now once you cram stuff down people’s throat you cannot make them accept it but I do hope it at least gets people thinking. If I don’t get them thinking, I hope to at least raise an eyebrow or two. That quote is by General Eric Shinseki, former Chief of Staff United States Army:

“If you don’t like change you’re going to like irrelevance even less.”

 
“If you don’t like change you’re going to like irrelevance even less.” I think that about sums it up as General Shinseki says change is going to happen. You have got to either embrace it or accept the fact that it (change) is here. It is coming, it is going to happen and if you don’t change, guess what? That’s right you are going to fall by the wayside. You are going to be sent to the side of the road. You are going to be one of those people that sits there and watches the parade go by and then wonder what happened. That is the truth. That’s your destiny. It does not get any truer than that. You are going to become irrelevant. Change is coming and I’m seeing it all over the place. I am seeing it everywhere. Now more so than ever and it’s technology is doing that technology is driving that change.
 
What do we do? Well, we can sit here and put our head in the sand and expect that it’s not going to happen to us. I guarantee you it’s going to happen to us. It is going to happen. Every industry is going to be impacted by change and if you do not believe me you have got your head in the sand.
 
Look at look at what Netflix and Amazon Prime did to Blockbuster. Look at what happened. Where is Blockbuster now? They are gone.
 
A huge company, a huge organization and now they’re gone. They are gone because they refused to change. They refused to adapt. They had a chance to buy Netflix. They had a chance to buy out Netflix and they chose not to. Now, Blockbuster Video is gone and folks, it is going to happen across a lot of other industries.
 
It is already happening, now in the food service industry specifically the pizza industry. I saw this commercial earlier this week for the Little Caesars pick up portal. You can order online on your Little Caesars app on your phone and you can pay online. Through the app on the phone, you enter your credit card information or your debit card information. Then you just show up at the store because they don’t deliver. You show up at the store and you go to the portal. You find your little number then you enter the code, the little door will open, that applies to you, and it’s just that simple and you take your pizzas, you leave. You never have to talk to a human being. That is right, you never have to talk to a human being.
 
AirBnB, look what it is doing to the hospitality industry. Rocket Mortgage; look what it is doing to the home lending industry. Realtor dot com app where you can search by drawing a little circle or draw a pattern that shows you all the homes in that search area. That is going to continue rock the industry. That app and others like it are going to change the real estate business. It does not care what anybody says, the real estate business needs to change. It is going to happen because it is happening already. If somebody is sitting out there not believing that it is not going to happen or think that people will not do that, people won’t allow that. Yet, look at what happened to the horse-drawn carriage, that’s right the automobile industry took care of that.
 
Now look at what is happening to the driving industry. We are getting driverless vehicles, the consumer will no longer be driving their own vehicles. Sure there might be somebody driving a vehicle but the consumer themselves will not be driving the vehicle. Look at Lyft, at Uber, it is happening.
 
To continue living a life and a mindset of “oh, it’s not going to happen to my industry” is nonsense. Guess what is going to happen to the pharmaceutical industry, the pharmaceutical business, those pharmacies at Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Target? The Pharmacy business is going to combine a little AirBnB, a little Rocket Mortgage, and a little Little Caesars. That’s right, what is going to happen, I do not know if you have seen them but there are these little robots that make mixed drinks. In Japan and in the larger cities like Las Vegas in some hotels, they have robots that mix drinks because they know exactly where the vodka is, their mechanical arm goes and pulls it. It knows exactly how much to pour to get two shots of vodka. It knows how to shake, stir whatever you need. It knows how to drop the cherry or the olives into the martini and present it to you.
 
Guess what is going to happen because it is happening now. It has already happened and it’s going to continue to happen. This coming change is going to rock the pharmacy business and it’s going to rock that industry on its heels.
 
Folks, while it is quite simple, the problem remains. There are people out there that refuse to accept the fact that it is going to change. While there is always going to be a need for a human. There will always be a need for human but a human to ensure that the machine is still up and running. To ensure that the machine is still doing what it’s supposed to do. Yes, there is going to be a continued need for a human, for the time being. Humans but eventually, we will all putting ourselves out of business, out of a job. Technology is and will be putting everyone else out of business.
 
Thus, you need to adapt, you need to change, you need to plan and you need to act on that plan. If you do not, I sure do hope you like irrelevance. Relevance and Change is coming and it is going to shape the future. Either you are relevant or you are not relevant and that is all there is to it. It does not matter what you do. It is going to happen and again, it is changing all around you and if you are not seeing the forest for the trees then you get exactly what you deserve.
 
What are you doing to go with that change that is coming to stay? To remain relevant as opposed to becoming irrelevant? The time to act is now because before you know it, you are going to watch that parade go by and you won’t know what happened.
 
Personally, I’d much rather be in the parade but then again, that’s just me.
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My 2018 Wish For Everyone by David G. Guerra

Happy New Year!

Here we are, the calendar is calling us to notice a new year has arrived and it is here to stay. I am taking a few minutes today to write a small call-to-action, a micro-manifesto, a wish for everyone in 2018.

Hey, it is 2018. We made it! For the most part, we made it in one piece. Now ahead of us are choices and changes.

Choices we make are our own. While it may be easy to blame others the choices we make in response to the actions of others are strictly our own to make.

Changes are here. Changes are coming. For those living in the past, changes happened back then as well. Guess what, changes we will adore and other changes we will hate. However, how we react to those changes is our own choice.

Make the decision to have a GREAT & POSITIVE 2018. As I have put myself in the situation I am in now, YOU have put yourself in your own unique situation. Good or bad, you cannot only oblige yourself to make it better every day.

I know I cannot change the past, why bother even trying to re-write history. What is done can never be undone. However, I do know I can write what has not been written: my future. I do know that my future will be full of downs and ups but you have to be realistic and optimistic to know the downs are there to make us appreciate the ups.

Standing before all of us on this first day of the new calendar is the FUTURE. The unwritten, untainted, undisturbed future. It is a blank page. It is like newly fallen snow. So serene and full of possibilities. You must choose what you want to do with 2018, as I will choose what to do with my future. Remember, if others see you as weak or a failure or put in a place of misery you are there because you have given power to others. In 2018, reclaim your power by failing to allow the misery of others to become the definition of who you are today.

I know you are stronger than that. Sure, it is easy to blame others and it hurts to admit that you are still living in the past. Yet, the calendar keeps changing and the more things around you change why not change alongside them? Hold your head up, as I choose to do, refuse to allow the past and the symbols of the past (i.e., the results of failed relationships, refusing to recognize and have trust in what you have created) to dominate your current existence. While the past is a very comfortable place, it is not the reality of the present. The past with all its tainted warmth and comfort makes it difficult to trust the future. However, the future has been given to each and every one of us to create something better than what we had yesterday.

Do not get me wrong, as I do understand there is also pain associated with the past. Yet, reliving that pain day in and day out is not fair to yourself and those around you. Remaining entrenched in your past creates no future for you and those around you. Join those that have accepted the past for what and where it is. Join them in choosing to move forward.

The wonder and magic of the future is to be celebrated and shared. However, being around someone who is firmly anchored in the past is a recipe creating more pain, misery, distrust, anger, and ultimately hate. It also creates resentment and the roots of alienation begin because of the refusal to choose to let go of the past and accept that change is what will make us better people. Better human beings. Better family. Better friends. Better Life.

Now you ask, “Why start if others refuse to accept change and make a positive choice in life? The answer is simple; why are you worried about others? You cannot force someone to do what they do not want to do, especially if it means accepting that their version of life is one anchored in the past. A life that is moored to failed relationships, tied to bad decisions, and full of despair of not doing something about it. You can only do for yourself. Be the example, even if they do not want to pay attention, by accepting change and work at making those positive choices that will deliver the positive outcomes.

Yet, if they continue to work to bring you down understand and know that you are your own person and the only obligation you have is to yourself. Thus, if you choose to follow them down that rabbit hole, then you do so on your own. On the other side of the same coin, you are right and just in leaving those that are living in the past in the past and moving forward.

Yet you ask, “Won’t that make me an insensitive piece of human waste?” NO! Why would you want to remain miserable knowing by stepping away will bring you joy and happiness? Do not think you are wrong for walking away from the misery others refuse to leave. Sticking around is not being merciful.

What mercy is there when one human being savors in dragging others down into their pit of despair? It is not right and it is not just, yet many people do it because they simply can. Again, your time to move away from the negative and into the positive is now. All you have to do is want it. When you accept that change then do it, it is the only way to get started on writing your own future.

Change has now taken residence right in front of me, in front of you, in front of all of us and it will be here from this moment on until our last day. Accepting Change and Choice in 2018 is just for you!

Today, I will raise a glass and toast everyone (Family, Friends, New Friends, Old Friends, and those friends yet undiscovered)! I wish you nothing but positive, health, happiness and good for 2018 and all the years that follow.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Why I Empower All My Customers And You Should To!

Some say empowering your customers is the greatest gift you can give your customers. I agree.

I wholeheartedly agree when it comes to making your customers, your clients better. By empowering them, you also make them better clients and customers. Having better clients and customers you have greater success as a business and as a leader. However, what about your best customers? Don’t start segregating the best from the good from the mediocre from the bad.

Don’t Do It!

All your customers turn to you because you are the best.

All of them are your best customers/clients.

Whether they spend $10 a year or $10,000 a quarter, each and every customer is worth your best. Some businesses focus on the top tier $$$ based customers. Some focus solely on the top and mid tier customers. Too few focus on ALL customers from all tiers or levels of money spent on the company’s product or service. Unfortunate for those businesses that refuse to look beyond the top tier as they will never realize the power the mid and lower tiers bring.

Sure most people and organizations have every right to believe that the top 20% bring 80% of the wealth. However, at any moment any of the 80% that bring the 20% can suddenly jump into the top 20% and if your organization is not doing anything to empower that customer/client then rest assured that individual or group will go someplace else. Guaranteed!

If you can’t find time for them, then don’t be surprised when they don’t go looking for you. Do not be surprised when they give their money to someone else.

This is why empowering all your customers is best! That is why I empower ALL my customers and clients. It is not that I expect something in return. I empower them to make the right decisions based on the knowledge, wisdom and skills I share with them. That means I am not only make my customers smarter, I am giving them the tools to use my products or services to the best of their ability. I share with them all that I know about my products and services.

I do this in hopes that they can understand what I bring to their organization and with that understand they can communicate back to me about any ideas, changes, concerns, or questions that serve to ultimately make the products and services better.

You bring them into the fold. You bring the customer behind the counter. You make the client part of the team, part of the creative team. They are now empowered to be innovators of the next version of the product or service.

Being members of the team, your customers/clients are now a valuable component of the organization. This is a component that pays you. They pay you by buying the product or service. Then they continue to pay you by providing the feedback. While feedback is not guaranteed, it is something to expect from some or more of all your customers. Those that provide that feedback will provide feedback that will be most valuable to your and your organization.

Now be careful when you empower them by bringing them into the fold. Too much, too soon may be intimidating and cause the client/customer to withdraw. The same applies for the opposite: too little, too slow. When things move too slow you run the risk of the customer or client losing interest in what you are doing or trying to do.

It will be difficult but if you truly want ALL your customers and clients to be the best they can be then go ahead and empower them. The return on that investment may astound you.

As always, if you questions please feel free to reach out and contact me.

by David G. Guerra, MBA
Author of the Walking Leader and Great To Follow
twitter: @DaveGuerra
instagram: dave_guerra