What is Normal?
I’m constantly surprised at the way that people think about “what is normal”, and the way “normal” really is. While it is easy to see over a 30 year period how “normal” changes (e.g. think of the wide ranging social, environmental, and global business changes over the last 30 years), we tend to think that “normal” is pretty fixed.
In fact, normal is constantly changing, and is shaped by the following forces (to name a few):
Our definition gives us a “stake in the ground” against which we can measure some quite fundamental things – i.e. right and wrong, good and evil, whether something is the truth, or a deception, to name a few.
Like it or not, we are all susceptible to the above influences, and it is only when we take time to reflect, and look back, do we realise the bombarding that our senses and intellect are under, and also the speed of change that we are all living through. The amount of changes over the last 30 years, are likely to happen in the next 5 years, and we are all “along for the ride”.
It is no surprise that our own companies, and those that we deal with, are all in a constant state of change. Bill Gates foresaw this in his book “Business at the Speed of Thought”. We have seen “normal” change in business, via the collapse overnight of a global brand (i.e. Arthur Anderson), where, in 2001, due to actions taken in the US, the entire credibility of that brand collapsed in a few days globally.
I recall sitting in the office of a Sydney based law firm in 2001; the CEO of that firm was delayed regarding a meeting I was due to attend for 90 minutes, because 25 partners in Sydney and Melbourne had rung him that morning, looking for new roles in his firm.
The collapse of Gaddafi, and the current Middle East unrest, fuelled by information available via the internet to whole populations, are examples of how “normal” can change very quickly. The fall of the Berlin wall was possible when the guards protecting that wall decided one day that it was “normal” to let a person smash down a small piece of the wall; and that acceptance led to a snowball effect, resulting in the destruction of that hated barrier.
Making money out of “normal” is not about deception – rather it is about taking the fear out of change. Help the people in your business to understand that:
- We think that normal is static
I’m constantly surprised at the way that people think about “what is normal”, and the way “normal” really is. While it is easy to see over a 30 year period how “normal” changes (e.g. think of the wide ranging social, environmental, and global business changes over the last 30 years), we tend to think that “normal” is pretty fixed.
In fact, normal is constantly changing, and is shaped by the following forces (to name a few):
- The Internet
- The Global flow of capital and labour
- The increasing speed of communication, and the increasing demand for shorter response times
- The growth of “me” – e.g. social media, personalised marketing
- Pervasive PR and opinion manipulation - e.g.
- pieces in the media starting with “latest research shows” do we ever stop to think what the source of this “research” is, what the sample size was, and who paid for the research?
- Political agenda masquerading as “advertisements”, “advertorials”, “special articles”
- When we think about it, “normal” is under constant attack
Our definition gives us a “stake in the ground” against which we can measure some quite fundamental things – i.e. right and wrong, good and evil, whether something is the truth, or a deception, to name a few.
- The definition of normal for humans is surprisingly flexible
Like it or not, we are all susceptible to the above influences, and it is only when we take time to reflect, and look back, do we realise the bombarding that our senses and intellect are under, and also the speed of change that we are all living through. The amount of changes over the last 30 years, are likely to happen in the next 5 years, and we are all “along for the ride”.
- Therefore the same of companies, as they comprise humans
It is no surprise that our own companies, and those that we deal with, are all in a constant state of change. Bill Gates foresaw this in his book “Business at the Speed of Thought”. We have seen “normal” change in business, via the collapse overnight of a global brand (i.e. Arthur Anderson), where, in 2001, due to actions taken in the US, the entire credibility of that brand collapsed in a few days globally.
I recall sitting in the office of a Sydney based law firm in 2001; the CEO of that firm was delayed regarding a meeting I was due to attend for 90 minutes, because 25 partners in Sydney and Melbourne had rung him that morning, looking for new roles in his firm.
The collapse of Gaddafi, and the current Middle East unrest, fuelled by information available via the internet to whole populations, are examples of how “normal” can change very quickly. The fall of the Berlin wall was possible when the guards protecting that wall decided one day that it was “normal” to let a person smash down a small piece of the wall; and that acceptance led to a snowball effect, resulting in the destruction of that hated barrier.
- How to make money out of normal, today, and in the future
Making money out of “normal” is not about deception – rather it is about taking the fear out of change. Help the people in your business to understand that:
- “Normal” is changing fast, but that change is not always a threat
- There are ways for them to be save, even when “normal” changes fast
- Even though client and prospect perceptions of “normal” service levels and response times are becoming more demanding, the values and culture of your business will not change, and leadership and teamwork within the business will enable everyone to cope with changes to “normal”