5 Reasons You May Need a Chief Renewables Officer & a Chief Tech Trends Officer--and an MBA Program that Trains Both + Right Brain Thinking! (+ 1 Bonus Reason)...
For 1000 Year Planning -- or even 10 Year Planning -- these 2 business areas are already key but not executive positions or company-wide focus (note Kodak and now Weight Watchers, hotel chains, cab companies disrupted by new tech/social trends that had foreseeable consequences -- and bricks-and-mortar retail chains and local stores that didn't respond creatively to online sales displacing store sales; online retailers that didn't prepare for Amazon disruption in every product area not just books; or didn't prepare for Google Ads to disrupt previous advertising strategies. Example of potential disruptive trend: Rumor only, floating about: Might Google buy Twitter? How might that information or a related corporate purchase eventually affect your business?)
- What's Creative Today Is Obsolete Tomorrow -- Fast... Appointing well-qualified Chief Officers in just these two areas -- focus on using renewables/recycling as BUDGET PLANNING - and on daily assessment of disruptive emerging tech trends' impact on your business within 2-10 or more years -- could mean the difference between a 1-10 year company success and a 100 or 1000 year company success. If you appointed 2 such officers you would shift whole-company thinking and creativity to a great extent -- even enhance your reputation with customers.
- Customers Depend on (and Are Attracted to) Your Being Forward-Thinking & Innovative -- if you aren't, they'll go where the "next big thing" is. The inability to "see ahead of the curve" and be there with good options for customers, may be even more important for long-term stock value than just having a Quarter slightly head of the last.
- Create Your Own Internal Innovative Sustainable/Creative MBA-equivalent Business Training. Innovation Expertise + Sustainability Expertise + Tech Trend Impact Expertise -- Says "We're a smart and innovative company that's the one to watch." We're modeling the help, not just giving advice. MBA's don't generally include training for creativity, intuition, or "seeing ahead of the curve." And only some include training in business/financial implications of renewables/sustainability & long-term budget implications. They should -- but if they don't, you can internally. Would also be a plus for executive/managerial recruiting.
- If You're Not Already Thinking of a 1000 Year Business Legacy Plan -- others are. This will become second nature in sustainable global business expertise -- and you don't want to be left behind. Why wait and find out too late that you weren't thinking really really far ahead enough to see something no one else has seen? But others are? Suggestion: Give all managers -- or all employees -- an assignment to create a 1-Page 1000 Year Business Plan for your company/product and see what ideas pop up that you might never have anticipated, and that could change everything! Do this periodically and give high recognition for plan proposals that "pop up" emerging trends that could lead to greater business success!
- Long-term Sustainable Success Companies Are All Increasing Renewables Strategy + Tech Trend Shift Strategy focus company wide! Especially at Executive Levels! The C-Suites that get this right will be tomorrow's leaders -- Sustainability Innovation & Tech Trend Savvy should distinguish the Future C-Suites! #ThinkAhead
- Should ALL "Chief Officers" be in effect, Chief Renwables Officers & Chief Tech Trends Strategists regardless of their position? Including the CEO?
- CTO/CIO -- (Chief Technology Officer, Chief Information Officer) need to be looking at renewables & sustainability as well as new disruptive tech trends -- AND at having a "department of unintended consequences" to creatively anticipate unexpected fall out from new untested tech trends;
- CMOs (Chief Marketing Officers -- or Head of Sales) need focus on emerging tech trends or old advertising strategies will be on disrupted obsolete platforms--or they could miss out by not seeing a new CRM strategy or Social Media shift. Marketing & Sales are often paper/promotional objects intensive -- looking at more renewables may be key in both cutting costs and being more creative with marketing/sales;
- Head of Human Resources -- anticipating emerging tech trends globally can mean knowing and planning in advance for the need for internal training in new technology or new employees highly trained in a brand new technology/platform/media. Strategies by Human Resources can go global to both pull in new ideas for Renewables from every employee -- and execute global renewables strategies by engaging every employee in the forward-thinking strategies.
- CFO's need to be looking at both sustainables/renewables and tech change trends MOST of the time because these are big short-term and long-term budget impacts. CFO's need to be innovative and "ahead of the curve" more than ever before!
Yet MS in Accounting and internal company training doesn't train intuitive/innovative/creative quantum-leap thinking or long-term renwables knowledge, yet both could have the most significant impact on future budgeting/financial success. Creative Long-term Financial Planning -- even seriously thinking of 1000 Year Business Plans to stretch the imagination -- may be the focus of future Financial Leaders as never before. AirBNB was an emerging tech trend (online engagement of a new sharing product that disrupts hotel/motel chains). Why should CFO's be focused on the "sharing economy" NOW? Stay tuned... In every industry.
- Not thinking intuitivey/creatively and globally every day;
- Not seeing long-term disruption of just-emerging tech trends -- and their networked effects!
- Not seeing their potential long-term budget pluses for renewables (and PR/reputation pluses):
Just 3 examples of how "seeing ahead of the curve," training right brain "intuitive" skills and quantum-leap mental processing -- could change the 10 Year Planning as well as 1000 Year Planning for any company or expertise field.
BONUS REASON #6: This will make you happier!
Stretching mind and imagination into innovative and creative new ideas... for sustainability and more creative ways to quickly ramp up for new tech trends will excite your right brain/mind (creative-intuitive-quantum leap, "aha!" ideas brain/mind) in a positive direction!
In every Right Brain Aerobics for Innovation Organizational Training, ideas emerge from executives and managers that are way "ahead of the curve" -- and they're exited to have time for "Future Vision" and seeing "Impossible Things."
Common Comment: It is so rare to have this kind of creative mental focus/thinking time.
Tech Trend Prediction: That's going to change. Ready or not -- we're in need of global quantum leaps in intuitive-innovative thinking and the ability to think in that context will be highly prized. Minds of the Future?
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Top Very-Long-range Trend Thinking Skills, expertise/creativity in sustainability and renewables, high intuition levels -- will become a "next big thing" in qualities for recruiting chief executives and management leadership. Not as a "nice to have" but as something you can take to the bank... Wait. Are banking systems being disrupted with surprising little awareness mainstream awareness yet new trends may impact every investment by every company as well as retirement funds?
Exercise: Read "Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt" by Michael Lewis, no matter what your industry. If you're an inventor, teacher, Social Media expert, read this. If you're a parent, read this. If you're a CFO or want to work in banking, read this! Then just think about what's happening in YOUR industry that you're not yet seeing??
Interesting thing about the book is it's a really thought-provoking story of what happens when you're not looking ahead at the implications of what's going on with technology -- and don't really KNOW IN DEPTH the technology your using and how it's being used. Even if it's hard to understand, we're going to have to understand next gen technology thoroughly better for longer-range thinking and avoiding "unintended consequences" -- creating 1000 Year Sustainability and Legacy.
Implications of this story: Solutions are going to be trickier, more disruptive and harder to grasp than we thought. We'll need new minds to grasp almost unimaginable new futures with foresight, sustainable creativity, and greater compassion and intuition regarding technology shifts and consequences. That's a good thing -- we have to not just think "bigger" but think l-o-n-g-e-r and think l-o-n-g--r-a-n-g-e...
Looking 1000 Years ahead may also generate life-changing perspectives..Thanks for exploring The 1000 Year Business Plan!
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See also: New Blog at Right Brain Blogs: "Is Innovation in YOUR Mind Only? Or Tapping a Collective Inner Genius?"
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CEO, Right Brain Aerobics.
Organizational Training for Right Brain Aerobics Training for Innovation and Creativity. Former VP, Merrill Lynch & Senior Director AT&T Wireless, reporting to CIO; former Director, Phoenix House Foundation; former board member, Transition Whidbey for sustainability.
sandra@rightbrainaerobics.com - 425-214-2926
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