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SHIFTS BUSINESS LEADERS NEED succeed today and in the future.

Fundamental aspects business owners and C-suite executives need to be aware of to succeed today and in the future.

Three major shifts that people need to adopt:
• Technology Integration
• True Business Valuation
• Leadership Transformation

TECHNOLOGY IN BUSINESS IS MORE THAN A TOOL, IT IS A WAY OF LIFE

We are all seeing that children and young adult are smarter than ever. They have access to the internet and a knack to use technology easily. The younger generation starts early with technology. Children as young as three years old can work an iPad and find a show  in seconds.  Watching regular television, as we did years ago, has quickly diminished. Companies more and more continue to shift their ad budget away from traditional media and invest it in digital media.

He shared a story that demonstrates how young adults can access information quickly and easily. “I was at dinner of about 28 guests. Along with me was another young speaker. He asked me if I knew the net worth in the room. I had no idea. In seconds he tells me $236 billion. I asked him, how he knew that. He tells me, he Googled it. When I started with Boston Pizza I didn’t have the resources to get answers to questions at my finger tips.”

We all know things take time, especially in business. But with the integration of technology, “it speeds up returns,” Jim made very clear.

BUSINESS VALUATION

It is quite common today to hear about businesses looking for money to start up. That is the main purpose of the show Dragons’ Den. “If you wanted money years ago, 20% would come from a bank – the remaining 80% would be your own,” the Dragon said. “If you went to a non traditional lender like the old Federal Development Bank, the rule was you had to be turned down by two banks first.”

Over the years of being on Dragons’ Den, Jim Treliving has seen and heard hundreds of people share valuations of their business. Although it seems that everyone with a business idea is getting money, through traditional lending, crowd funding or angel investors, here are two mistakes the original Dragon says, business owners make when asking for the cash:

1) Not having a business plan
2) Not having a realistic valuation

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines valuation as: the estimated or determined market value of a thing. “Valuation is all about what the company is doing right now. Not what it might do. I could easily say I might give you money… or I might not,” he said. “And don’t compare to other companies. You need your realistic valuation.”

LEADERSHIP TRANSFORMATION

Best practice in business is quickly including what we have been saying to hockey players for years…Read & React.

Jim Treliving heeded these words to business leaders: “Listen and React.”

The business world is changing and morphing faster than ever. “You get a cell phone and in no time it is outdated and lost its value,” Jim said. This fast pace has transcended into the minds of the young who wonder, “How can we make money now?” he shared. It is common to see the older aged leaders want to hang on to what they have. Many are resistant to change. Those who venture out and want to ensure a longer lifespan in the business world need to look at the younger adult. “The younger generation is asking questions we never did. We just followed and did what we were told. For example we would punch a clock – work the hours we were told. Today we are seeing people work 4-5 hours a day at a job.”

This young generation’s need for possessing stuff is not as it was for many during the 1980’s and 1990’s. “It is not important to have a corner office for them. At Boston Pizza, we have five main offices in North America. They are all pretty modern. Our one in Dallas recently went through a change. And after being told to pick what they want, the team their came up with the following layout: only four closed door offices, one of them mine. The rest of the space was wide open,” he described. “Companies are losing young people because that group of people like to socialize and the closed office space concept is not conducive to their way.”

Jim said through that experience a high priority at Boston Pizza will be to change the other four offices.

It is all well and good that there is a culture and way of working change going on. But the number one concern on my mind was – is it effective? “Here is the best part, productivity is higher,” he said with out any hesitation. “Wait is a bad word.”

It was clear through him sharing his experience that this new way of working allows for collaboration and getting answers quickly. My biggest take away was peer to peer support and guidance is much better than what I grew up with… go to the boss to get answers.

If there is any obscurity in this quick changing landscape, the Dragon used these final words to assure an optimistic future, “can’t wait to see what is coming up next!”

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