Running a successful business, in the long term, means not only tackling the day to day challenges, but also planning for things that might emerge over the longer term.
Only a minority of businesses in the UK last beyond five years – and a substantial chunk of these failures can be attributed to a lack of forward planning and adaptability.
If you want to thrive throughout the next decade, and beyond, in other words, it’s a essential to start planning for the future direction of your business now.
Embracing Technological Innovation
One of the biggest topics in the last couple of years has been the emergence of AI, most notably (but not exclusively) in the form of Large Language Models like OpenAI’s GPT-4.
Whether you’re bullish or sceptical about the potential of any particular AI technology, it seems that many of them are here to stay. Moreover, the next decade is likely to see new tech driven innovation becoming an essential element for successful companies.
It’s worth remembering that the emergence of the internet was initially treated with scepticism. Those that embraced the shift early, like Amazon and Google, are now among the largest and most successful companies on the planet. Those that failed to adapt, by contrast, were often left behind.
Understanding Shifting Market Dynamics
It isn’t just technology that’s changing the way that business operates. Consumer behaviour is a key factor that can’t be ignored. Demographic changes might lead to new markets emerging. People are living longer, and birth rates are declining – which might mean that products geared toward older people see an upswing in demand.
The outlook and values of your market might shift, too: recent times have seen an increase in environmentally-oriented products, in large part thanks to the green movement.
To stay on top of these trends requires paying attention – and, in the world of business, that means regular market research.
Fostering a Culture of Innovation
Innovation, put simply, is the ability to devise novel solutions to emerging (or even longstanding) issues. In practice, this means diversity of thought. If everyone looks at a given problem in the same way, then you might struggle to meet the goals in your longer term business plans.
Employees should ideally be empowered to think creatively, and to bounce ideas off one another. Many of the most successful businesses allow ideas to flow from every part of the business – not just the R&D departments. It might be that you already have some good ideas at your disposal. With the right culture, you can leverage them!
Building Business Resilience
Over the short term, you might get lucky, and avoid serious challenges. Over the long term, challenges are inevitable – and even desirable. When you’re constantly on the lookout for them, and brainstorming the ways that things could go wrong, you’ll be better equipped to deal with disaster if and when it does strike. In many cases, resilience can be built with the help of an outside consultant with experience of what might go wrong.
Whether it’s an economic downturn, a supply chain disruption, or a natural disaster, you can cope with the right planning. This might involve diversified revenue streams, so you’re not over-reliant on a single source of income, and regular risk assessments involving multiple stakeholders.
