How to Identify Threats to Your Business and Career

Millennials don’t wear watches. A friend of ours recently said he doesn’t either. And he’s a boomer.

They don’t wear watches because they don’t need them. They use their smartphones.

The trend in watches may not be important to you. But it serves as a great example.

If you’re an entrepreneur, take note. But even if you aren’t, you can learn from this example.

Listen to this post! Click a player to hear George & Mary-Lynn on The BIGG Success Show Podcast. (Duration 4:20)

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The mistake we make too often

When we think about competition, we tend to think too directly. We only think about other businesses in our industry.

We go “head to head.” We “duke it out.”

It makes for great drama. But all the while, we may have a larger problem:

As strange as it sounds, your greatest competition may not come from your competitors. It may show up in the form of substitutes – smartphones replacing watches.

Sure, you should think about your competition. You should understand what they’re good at and what they’re not.

But as you consider the future of your business or your career, think long and hard about the threats to your livelihood.

3 important questions to ask

You need to think about more than just who your customer might use instead of you. You also need to ask:

• What might a customer use instead of your product or service?
  

  In this example, a customer could replace their watch with their smartphone.
  

• Why might it be different this time around?
  

  It’s not like smartphones are the first time we’ve had access to a clock other than a watch.
  

  Our cell phones had clocks on them. But they didn’t make this impact.
  

  So why is it different this time around? Because our smartphones are command central for most of us.
  

  We check our e-mail. We surf. We text. We take pictures. We play games. The phone is the least important part!
  

  If they’re not in our hand, they’re on the desk or table in front of us. They are ever present. We connect with the world through them.
  

  So why have a watch when you can just refer to the device you refer to for everything else? It’s just as easy (if not easier) to check the time on your smarthphone.
  

• How might this new use affect your business or career?
  

  So smartphones may turn out to be a destructive technology to watch manufacturers and a disruptive technology to jewelry stores.
  

  If you’re in one of those businesses – as an owner or an employee – you would have to think about the effect it will have in the coming years.
  

  But don’t stop there. Figure out how you will respond now.
  

The key is to keep your eyes and ears open. Get outside your industry. Watch the trends.

Most of the things you see will have little or no impact on your business or your career. But once you in a while, you may something that will.

We’ve talked about this in a defensive way. But as you look and listen, you may discover an opportunity that leads to BIGG success!

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00826-090612.mp3

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