Seizing on the Greatest Global Shift in 5,000 Years – Valutrics
The year 2020 will mark the beginning of the most profound change in global demographics we’ve ever seen. Here are 3 ways to make that work in your favor.
Big change takes us What amazes me most when I talk to audiences and clients about the nature and the speed of change is that we are constantly blind-sided That’s why most people and businesses are already missing “the next big thing,” which is already rushing toward us, and has been for some time. It’s the seismic demographic shift in global population.
In research we present in The Gen Z Effect: Six Forces Shaping the Future, my co-author Dan Keldsen and I found that Stop and think about what that means to every aspect of how we work, build organizations, collaborate, provide for social welfare, deliver health care, sell, insure, and educate. It’s mind-bending because none of our current commercial, social, or political institutions have been built to handle that sort of demographic change. Disruptive? Absolutely! But this may also be the beginning of the greatest era of prosperity and innovation humanity has ever experienced.
The year 2020 is just a stone’s throw away, which means that you really need to start asking the question now, “How am I preparing my organization to deal with and take advantage of that inevitable shift in population?”
One thing is sure: Ignoring it will not only disrupt your business, it will put you out of business.
Here are at least three things you can do today to get ready and prosper from this global redistribution of humanity.
1. Get ready for a truly multigenerational work force and marketplace.
I’m not talking about two or three generations working side 2. Build a global business (not just multinational, but really global!).
Yes, I know we’ve all heard this before. Since Marshall McLuhan coined the term “global village” in the early 1960s, we’ve used it as though we’re already there. But we still have five billion people who are not connected to the internet; three billion who do not have adequate access to clean water and adequate sanitation, and two billion who are living on less than $2 per day. I’m convinced that the single greatest opportunity and accomplishment of the 21st century will be educating that mass of humanity, getting them online, and giving them the means 3. Reverse mentoring.
One of most powerful yet most seldom used (less than 10 percent, according to my research) techniques to bridge generational divides and create organizations that can collaborate across them is reverse mentoring. Pioneered The patterns of the future already surround you. Pay attention and you, and your business, may just ride the biggest wave of change to ever sweep through humanity.
This article was originally published on Inc. and adapted from The Gen Z Effect: The Six Forces Shaping the Future of Business
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Tom Koulopoulos is the author of 10 books and founder of the Delphi Group, a 25-year-old Boston-based think tank and a past Inc. 500 company that focuses on innovation and the future of business. He tweets from @tkspeaks.