Seven Business Disruptors That Require a Leader’s Attention

Leadership matters, especially when you consider all the disruptions that appear at your business doorstep every day.  How to survive them?  Lean into them!  In fact, there are seven key disruptors you must address immediately with your team if you are concerned about successfully growing your business to the next level.

It really is all about them:  your team and the foundations you are securing around your people.  In today’s environment and over the long term, succeeding means making sure every person working with you is inspired and self-motivated.

It is your organization’s winning culture, in fact, that can make the difference when what’s required to grow is your team’s ability to change on the fly and proactively embrace the various tests and obstacles of change that come with doing more – even when the resources of time and money shrink.

There are the seven key disruptors you will want to keep your eye on and some key questions to consider in setting direction for your firm’s growth:

• People will continue losing jobs that will never come back again.  This is a time of great economic change and investing in the right role descriptions and required training will position your most valuable assets – your people – for success as their roles evolve. Training matters a lot in times like this.  Those who are not to learn will likely have impact on the inspirational and aspirational culture you need to develop to embrace seismic change. Who are the people in your organization who are up to the challenge?
• Digital Leadership Matters? Do you have someone in charge of digitization in your organization?  Technology matters a lot these days, and you or another leader in your firm will likely need to pay more attention in this space.  Consider this statistic:    40 per cent of major companies will not survive the digital disruptions of the next 5 years because artificial intelligence will take a much bigger role.  Ask yourself:   how will technology change our business and our industry and who will lead us proactively to survive and thrive?
• Value Matters.  The top of the list of industries with potential for disruption are data-driven industries like technology, media and, yes, financial services, according to the Global Center for Digital Business Transformation (DBT Center), June 2015.  But there is good news in these gloomy statistic: bringing the value of great advice to the forefront of your service offering is a recipe for success.  What needs to change in your organization to delegate tasks to machines and relationships to people?  
• Mentorship Matters.  From 2007-61, trillions of dollars are expected to will move from one adult population to the next, yet at the same time, many advisors and clients are retiring together, leading to a huge knowledge and experience gap just at this critical financial juncture.  Your clients will want to know:  what are you doing to be a better mentor to young advisors and clients who are evolving in your circle of influence?
• Succession is Not Easy.  Historically, 90 per cent of heirs change advisors (Deloitte and Touche study, 2016).  What are you doing to retain value in your business in anticipation your client’s approach to their final stage of life?
• Disability is Just as Difficult.  Unexpected financial crises can disrupt savings, but as important are the financial ramifications of personal health as Canadians age. The time to discuss this is when people are health.  Have you talked to your employees, clients or other professionals you may be working with about a disaster recovery plan in case of physical or cognitive decline?
• Death and Taxes are Certain. Canada is undergoing a significant tax reform that will substantively alter net after-tax wealth, especially for private business owners and their heirs.  As Don Heron once said, in character as Charlie Farquarson, “at least death doesn’t keep getting worse every year!”  Deep tax knowledge is critical if you are engaged in any aspect of financial services:  tax preparation,  accounting, bookkeeping or financial planning.  Is your tax knowledge up to speed?

These seven disruptors are the subject of our discussions on business leadership in the Executive Business Builders Network this month.  Please weigh in with your thoughts and advice for the business leaders who, like you, may be struggling with their new pathway to dramatic change.  Many heads together can bring outstanding results!

Evelyn Jacks is the creator of the Executive Business Builder Program, which helps small businesses acquire new skills necessary to grow their enterprises and is the co-author of Get Your People to Work Like They Mean It.   She is also Founder and President of Knowledge Bureau. She has twice been named one of the Top 25 Women of Influence in Canada, and has won the prestigious Rotman School of Business Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Additional Educational Resources:  Business Leadership, Culture and Continuity, a certificate course by Joanne Sigurdson, published by Knowledge Bureau.  Learn how to invest in the people who work with you to create an innovative culture in which all stakeholders in the success of the organization are focused and working in unison.  Learn how to build a new generation of leaders for the future.

©2017 Knowledge Bureau Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Refer a Friend	Research	Calculators	Course Trials