Running twice as fast

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          to help you better manage your small business

     Today's world is very different from that of yesterday. And tomorrow's world will be even more unrecognizable.

     A degree of certainty is required when you run a business. Right now, your operation is caught up in a juggernaut of change.

     Just consider energy. Without electricity, your computer will go dark, banks and supermarkets will close, gas stations will shut down, and all your appliances will become useless--unless you have a generator.

     Hydroelectric and nuclear plants produce significant streams of electricity. Solar and wind farms produce electricity in relatively small amounts. Oil and gas produce electricity big time. Coal, the biggest generator of electricity, is being banned.

     Like it or not, we live in an age that depends on electricity. Owners of small businesses need to think about the days of brownouts, or, worse, crashes with no power for a month or longer.

     Other uncertainties will affect your business in the future. We are in a continuing debate on health care. Is the future in small, community-based, privately run health or wellness clinics? Or big government bureaucracies? Is another health care system on the horizon?

     Another uncertainty is genetically modified foods. These pervade the food chain in this country--not so in the rest of the world. A reaction to GMO foods is afoot--some cities and states are trying to ban GMO foods, or, at least, label them. 

     Still another uncertainty is the future of 3-D printing. This new technology is already producing devices that will forever change manufacturing--both large and small. 3-D printing companies are already making parts for the automotive industry, aerospace, health care, home and personal products--including jewelry, lighting fixtures, shoe wear and more. Recently, a 3-D printed automobile appeared on TV news. 

     All that, and the 300-pound gorilla is already among us. Computing technology, the Internet, and communications advances have revolutionized the world in just 30 years. This revolution is just beginning. 

     Business owners tend to get enmeshed in today's problems. Give some thought to where we're headed. Thinking about trends will help you better structure your business to survive and prosper.

     Uncertainties are everywhere. In the past, we had time to absorb one uncertainty before the next one hit. No longer. Today, we must run twice as fast just to stay in the same place.