Monday, October 3, 2011

Getting Ready For The Big Bang!

According to many in the scientific community, that is how we all got here.

A massively concentrated, high-energy conglomerate finally had enough… and exploded creating the stars, the planets and the moons.

I lay no claims to being an astronomer nor a physicist, but as an observer of the marketplace, the theory has some validity.

Whether its consumer packaged goods, transportation, video entertainment, travel tourism, home goods, healthcare or even the government offices of Uncle Sam, the big bang theory is taking place right before us.

Consumer packaged good giants like Kraft and Sara Lee are splitting up.

Merck Pharmaceuticals is selling off groups to get more focused on the simple business dynamic of making money.

Netflix is no longer cohabiting with its mail-order videos sibling.

Motorola is splitting up with home entertainment seeking shelter away from the communications gear company.

Fortune Brands Inc., ITT Corp. and Marathon Oil Corp. have all announced they will split into pieces.

While music groups are known for break-ups, R.E.M. announced last week that their beat will no longer be united on the same stage.

Is this spawned by new romance and side affairs?

Or is this all part of a major new wave of change that is going to capitalize on a soon-to-be re-energized economy and marketplace?

When I retreat to my country house in Athens, Georgia, I channel my breakfast caffeine cravings to two very different coffee houses.

Neither is Starbucks.

One is a national bakery chain. The other one is an independent doughnut joint.

The national bakery chain is driven by a business paradigm that thrives on the delivery of a common experience no matter if I visit a location in Athens, Atlanta, Jacksonville or Dallas.

Embracing change is not easy.

Managers come and go as they rotate and get field training.

The other one is run by a late 20-something Millennial generation couple… a male-female couple.

They do very creative things with doughnuts.

They know customers by name and get very creative with their weekly promotions… like dance and sing a Broadway hit to get 10% off.

Now I know that Athens, Georgia is not Wall Street. In fact, in many ways, its not even Main Street.

But it does offer a glimpse into what I believe is going to become the Tsunami of business growth.

Companies, organizations, entrepreneurs, for-profits and non-profits are embracing the fact that innovation and change combined with rolling up their sleeves and screaming from rooftops…

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH…

BLOW UP THE BUSINESS MODEL AND GIVE ME BACK THE REINS.

I AM SIMPLY GOING TO JUST DO IT.

Big is no longer better.

State politicians and local community leadership is jumping on board.

Whether you agree or not agree with Alabama and Arizona, the states have said ENOUGH IS ENOUGH in terms of immigration control.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a bank that is scrapping the drive-throughs and designing a new stage of a combination bank and coffee house.

No question that demand is building up and will soon seek release.

No question that big behemoth corporate giants will be unable to re-engineer quick enough.

And so the book documenting what is about to happen will begin…

A massively concentrated, high-energy conglomerate finally had enough… and exploded creating the stars, the brands and the new ventures that finally did what was critically needed across the landscape of the Planet Earth.

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