In today’s business world, a forward-thinking mindset is a prerequisite to success. In order to keep up with the changing needs and interests of customers, business owners must be innovative, creative, and open-minded. It’s essential to implement this type of attitude as soon as possible. Here are five ways types you can create a more progressive business.
5 Ways To Become A More Progressive, Forward-Thinking Business–In Less Than 1 Week | Stephanie Burns
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1. Start With An Internal Audit
American business executive and COO of Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg, famously said, “We cannot change what we are not aware of, and once we are aware, we cannot help but change.” If your business has been operating for a few years without an audit of your systems, processes and routines, you’re likely not up-to-date with the latest and most effective tools.
Often, companies don’t want to waste time on an audit, but the amount of progress your organization can make simply by knowing what’s going on in each area is tremendous. Forward-thinking companies of the future have to be aware of each detail of their company and the environment around them, because the business world is constantly changing.
You won’t know what you need to adjust as your industry moves into the future if you aren’t aware of what you’re already doing. An audit is a simple step toward progress that you and your team can start working on right away.
2. Implement Learning Initiatives
How much time does your team spend updating their skills and looking for new ways to be innovative in their role? If you’re not already spending plenty of time on education, it’s time to change that. To ensure your company has an attitude of progress and moving toward the future, your team members should continuously be learning and staying up-to-date on new, cutting-edge ideas.
Offer incentives for team members to bring new ideas to the table, enroll in educational courses, read books, or attend conferences. This is something that you can do right away to start pushing your company forward and ensure you’re operating with a progressive attitude.
3. Accept Payments With Crypto
While cryptocurrency has been around for more than a decade, it’s become clear in the last couple of years that it’s more than just a fun experiment. More and more companies are beginning to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment.
Cryptocurrency has become a major player in the business world. Companies who want to stay ahead of the competition shouldn’t hesitate to include crypto in their acceptable forms of payment.
One such company that recently started accepting cryptocurrency as payment is one of the UK’s leading construction and facilities management organizations, Polyteck. The London-based group, founded by father-and-son duo John and Costas Polycarpou, recently announced that clients and suppliers can now pay in the form of Bitcoin. This means that organizations across London can use crypto to pay Polyteck for property maintenance services.
John Polycarpou, managing director of Polyteck explained his views on why the company has started accepting Bitcoin. During a recent email exchange, he stated, “Our business has always been a progressive organization. We never stop looking for new ways to serve our clients in innovative ways. Our decision to accept cryptocurrency as payment was driven by a desire to provide faster, more reliable, and more secure options in an industry where payment speed is often much too slow.”
Just as Polyteck did, if your company begins accepting cryptocurrency, you’ll pave the way for a faster and easier process for your customers and clients. It’s easy to make this change, so this is one of the quickest ways to push your company forward.
4. Go After Untapped Markets
Nearly every industry has an untapped market that the majority of companies have overlooked. Forward-thinking companies are always looking for new opportunities. Your path to long-term success is identifying those markets you can enter before your competition.
For a company that wants to be around for decades or even longer, identifying untapped markets should be an ongoing process. Even if you’re not going to make a plan today to enter a new market, it’s important to be aware of what those new markets are, so you can monitor whether competitors are planning to pursue them.
5. Think Socially Conscious
Business isn’t all about profit anymore, believe it or not, and while it’s important to have a profitable idea, if your business isn’t also working to make the world a better place its mission likely won’t resonate with customers or even with your own employees. To participate in today’s marketplace, you have to be thinking about how your product can be used in a socially conscious way. What can you do to make the world a better place?
One of the most forward-thinking CEOs of our time is Olivia Ramos, founder and CEO of Deepblocks. Ramos started her company with a mission to help people live in safe, secure, and environmentally sustainable buildings. She’s taken her company into the future.
Her company enables developers to evaluate potential projects in minutes, speeding up and simplifying the process tremendously. This makes it easier to reach sustainability and safety goals. Says Ramos, “We want to go global, to have it available in every single market in the world. The biggest challenge is knowing what to do today.”
If your company is not yet thinking on a grand scale about how your product can improve the world, it’s time to figure out what you can do. Don’t be afraid to think big and you’ll see your company survive and thrive for years to come.
