Climate change is a hot topic now (pun intended), but the kind of climate change I’m talking about is not the one that has everyone loudly voicing an opinion on its existence. .
The climate I’m talking about is the business climate in which we work and the change that is taking place.
About 30 years ago (when I was just a child) I was sitting in a conference room with 50 or 60 other reps listening to a speaker who was telling us that in 10 years 80% - 90% of our lines would be different than the ones that now graced our line cards. You can imagine the reaction to that bald statement!
And yet, 10 years later, my agency and most of the other representative agencies present during that meeting were living proof of that prediction. Why? How did this happen?
Although I don’t remember the basis of his prediction, reflecting back I realize that historically the time was ripe for change. It was approximately 40 years after World War II had ended and the men and women returning from the war who had established businesses, and hired manufacturers’ reps with just a handshake for an agreement, were passing the reins of authority on to the next generation. These managers were younger, had new ideas on how to accomplish their goals, and had different relationships (legal contracts are required) than their predecessors. Can you smell it in the air – it’s called CHANGE.
Today, 30 or so years later, the same aroma is permeating the atmosphere. The Baby Boomers are retiring and the next generations – Generation X and the Millennials are moving into the workplace in large numbers. They are filling the available managerial positions and yes, they have new ideas on how to accomplish their goals as well as new relationships.
As Ben Franklin wrote in a 1789 letter “… in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”. With all due respect for Ben, I would like to add – “and change” to the sentence.
Be assured that climate change does exist; take a whiff - smell it?
Although I don’t remember the basis of his prediction, reflecting back I realize that historically the time was ripe for change. It was approximately 40 years after World War II had ended and the men and women returning from the war who had established businesses, and hired manufacturers’ reps with just a handshake for an agreement, were passing the reins of authority on to the next generation. These managers were younger, had new ideas on how to accomplish their goals, and had different relationships (legal contracts are required) than their predecessors. Can you smell it in the air – it’s called CHANGE.
Today, 30 or so years later, the same aroma is permeating the atmosphere. The Baby Boomers are retiring and the next generations – Generation X and the Millennials are moving into the workplace in large numbers. They are filling the available managerial positions and yes, they have new ideas on how to accomplish their goals as well as new relationships.
As Ben Franklin wrote in a 1789 letter “… in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”. With all due respect for Ben, I would like to add – “and change” to the sentence.
Be assured that climate change does exist; take a whiff - smell it?
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