Times are changing, are you ready for the opportunities of Tomorrow?

The only thing that is constant in life, they say is change. In a world that is ever changing and with the advent of technology that is currently disrupting various industries across the globe; are you ready to weather this storm?

According to Eliyahu Goldratt: “Good luck is when opportunity meets preparation; while bad luck is when lack of preparation meets reality”.

Times, trends, weather, lifestyle, habits etc. are changing, in short everything is changing; and we all have to keep up in order to benefit from this change. Everyday smart ways of performing specific tasks keep coming up and we are left with the only option of keeping up with the trend or phase out for those who are smart enough to have done so. 

How then can we become these smart ones?

There are five(5) preparation master strokes that will certainly keep you at the apex of your industry and they are:

1. Stay informed about developments in your field
2. Build your own platform
3. Make learning a habit
4. Determine how to create value
5. Establish positive relationships with people in your field

These are definitely the keys for grabbing the opportunities of tomorrow. As time changes, it is always accompanied with opportunities and only the prepared can grab these opportunities.

1. Stay informed about developments in your field:

Only when you are abreast with happenings around you, can you successfully navigate to your destination. Whether you are an engineer, accountant, doctor etc; you have to be updated on the endless cycle of industry changes and how do you do that?

• Subscribe to blogs—and make time to read most of them
• Sign up for webinars and teleseminars
• Attend conferences and networking opportunities
• Read the latest books, magazines and industry publications
• Subscribe to e-mail newsletters related to your field
• Pay visits to acquaint with leaders in the industry

2. Build your own platform:

Everyone seems to be talking about platform these days irrespective of the industry. A platform is a “stage” that gives you and your message leverage and visibility. If you want to be heard by world, now you have no excuse because nothing is holding you back from making your voice count. All you need is a platform to pass your message and knowledge. If you have something worth saying and you want people to hear it, then get yourself a platform.
Nowadays we have blogs, twitter, Facebook, Instagram and many others which provide instant access to the world with just a click. All you have do is:

• Create context and contribute content
• Cultivate a community – mailing list, followers, subscribers etc.
• Synergize connections – have a platform for creative collaboration and teamwork
• Produce and publicize yourself 

3. Make learning a habit and get certified:

According to Peter Drucker, learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. You certainly can learn during your downtime because you do not need a classroom to learn. Always thrive as a professional to continually update and improve your proficiency in any field you find yourself.

4. Determine to create value and also how to create this value:

The focus of every business should not only be just to make profits but importantly; it should be to retain customers or clients. The real value of any business is its customers. If clients or customers are not willing to pay (and continue to pay) for your product or service; then your business becomes worthless. So how do you get customers and also retain them?

• Understand what drives value for your customers – data captured from your interactions with customers and how they act or react can help you understand what is important to them and the opportunities you have to help them.
• Understand your value proposition – the benefit(s) a customer enjoys from your product/service minus the cost of getting the product/service is equal to your value proposition.
• Identify the customers and segments where you can create more value and also have an advantage over your competitors. 
• Focus investments on your most valuable customers – allocate your resources towards development of products and services that will serve your best customers (that is customers you can serve best and also get the greatest value in return) or attract customers similar to your best customers.

• Create a win-win price – do not always use cost-plus pricing as it often results in giving away margin unnecessarily to some customers while losing incremental profits from others. An alternative is value-based pricing which considers the most important part of a business (the customers) and the value the product/service gives them. The rationale behind this is that, a satisfied customer who perceives a lot of value in your product/service will be willing to pay more for it. 

5. Establish positive relationships with people in your field:

One important attribute of successful people, is knowing how to get along with people. In all areas and endeavours of life, we need to create and maintain positive and healthy relationships. Creating and maintaining positive relationship entails:

• Accepting and maintaining differences – Remember no two persons are the same and we all perceive the world in different ways. So, accepting and celebrating that we are all different is a great starting point to creating and also maintaining positive relationship.
• Listening effectively – listening is an important skill that helps in boosting another person’s self esteem. It shows the individual that you support and value them. Read up on Active and reflective listening.
• Giving people your time – In a world where time is of the essence, giving time to people is certainly a very huge gift. The very touchstone of our existence is the connection we make with people, so importantly we need to be present even in the time we give people. Technology have gradually eroded our ability to build real rapport as we most times multitask by texting and talking at the same time.
• Giving and taking feedback – Giving constructive feedback which help others tap into their personal potential is key to forging positive and mutually beneficial relationships. Also any feedback you receive is free information which can also help you tap into your blind spot and get a different perspective.
• Developing good communication skills – communication is not just speaking, it also includes making sure your listener understands you.
• Developing empathy (Be human) – Empathy is a state of perceiving, reading and relating to another person’s feelings, inner state and needs without blaming, giving advice, or trying to fix the situation; but rather interpreting it in a way that will help the other person and offer support and develop mutual trust. If you have empathy, you will treat people exactly how you want to be treated.
  

Remember:
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

If you are adequately prepared, then the opportunities of tomorrow will not pass you by. 

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