BUSINESS BASICS NUMBER 17
Know where your industry is going. This is a business basic that fights company extinction. Knowing where your industry is going will tell you where your company should go. If you don’t know where your industry is going, then how can you expect to excel in it?
I once spoke with the owner of a typewriter shop that did not understand where the industry was going. The owner refused to recognize what was happening in the typewriter market as it collided with the PC world. Eventually, he went out of business. Instead of knowing where his industry was going and therefore knowing where his company should go, he blindly led his company into insolvency.
On the other hand, when you know where your industry is going, you can plan strategically for your company’s future. You want to position your company not just for what will make it successful today, but for what will ensure its success tomorrow. That demands a constant knowledge of where your industry is going.
So who would you rather be today? The typewriter salesperson or the person on the crest of the next wave in the PC world?











