Infatuation: A Reminder Of What It Takes!

I remember back to ’95 when I first discovered SAP, the then slightly known ERP solution. With my new found skill I’d been offered the chance to develop a resourcing business in a high pay, low supply consultant project-based sector.

While I knew the basics, I decided if I was going to appeal to my market & build some rapport, I needed to know what they were all talking about and so I put myself on as many SAP product training courses as I could afford. Quickly I became infatuated with how it could improve enterprise operational efficiency and go along way toward reducing costs.

That objective was of course how the last 50 years have been; enterprises looking at protecting their business and keeping costs to a minimum.

But now, here’s the 4IR and its Industry 4.0 technologies, looking at ways to improve productivity and revolutionise our products to be smarter, personalized and delivered faster. Once again, I’m infatuated.

Yesterday, I spent 6hrs reading and today another 2 already, learning & obsessing over product innovation platforms, design, manufacturing & collaboration.

Knowing everyone has to be on the offense to come up with new products simply fascinates me. To think how this will affect all our lives over the years to come & by obsessing/immersing my business within it all and the difference it might make to some of the largest companies in the world is so exciting to imagine.

No wonder we’re infatuated with the 4IR

Hunting For The Niche

Over the years, I’ve enjoyed starting and building businesses initially by “going deep” within a niche, becoming the expert, building reputation and going wide thereafter. I have been hunting for that opportunity once again and to make a difference in the market over the years to come.

It has been fascinating to watch a marketplace evolve over the last year. It started with the 4th Industrial Revolution that grabbed me that then led to me to the Industry4.0 Technologies. I saw and felt the market attention, but saw confusion across enterprises as to the impact of a number of evolving technologies.

And then, it became clear, the 4IR is about improving products and services using these technologies but still there needed an application capable of tying together these technologies, the value chain and enterprise both vertically and horizontally for the betterment of products.

It was at that moment I knew the already semi-established Product Lifecycle Management sector and approach was the “Big-one” and within that Product Innovation and Platformization.

Words Of Wisdom

Over the years, I’ve had a long-standing and good friend who’s always been there to “lecture me” on his take on business and success and yesterday was that moment to grab some breakfast and enjoy one of his thirty minute “preachings”. His name is Jack and yesterday I brought him up to speed on my business as it had been a few months since we last spoke. I “wound him up” and let him rant …

Conviction

He reminded me, I need to know my product and market better than anyone. I told him of my great ambition to get to know every one in my sector and that with that knowledge that I knew everyone would want to also talk to me.

Jack told me, no matter what, I must be myself as that was the only way to be genuine, but to remember that as much as I’d like to please everyone all of the time, the reality is when you know you just have to be yourself, this is not to everyone’s liking. But, as long as you do a good job, we don’t have to be best friends hey?

Planning

It doesn’t matter how well you plan, because when you’re trying to build something special and market leading you have to put in the hours 24 x 7. Nevertheless, daily planning combined with objectives is a critical part of the strategy and keeps you in check. Being ruthless with time, and keeping the focus remains vital to keeping on track.

Focus & Energy

The thirty minutes flew past as I listened to his rant, but he finished in true fashion and told me to put in even more hours and not to let anyone or anything deter me from the ambition to build the leading business in my sector…..”keep the focus” and remain patient over the years to come.

With the ship (business) having just left port, it’s always good to be reminded of some of the fundamentals of what it takes. It’s always good to be given that kick and reminder. In other words to map your behavior to your goals. As a business owner, the buck stops with me and there’s no excuses.

I hope you’ll join me in my network and if I can help you on your 4IR journey, it will be my pleasure.

Until then, my best wishes,

Andrew

asparrow@haigand.co

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