On the surface, this isn’t news. But dig a layer deeper and there is a story about “innovate or perish” here. On my recent trip to the D&H Distributing Canada show in Toronto, I drove by, made a U-turn and took the following photo. The saying that a picture is worth a thousand words applies here. You are looking at a shuddered truck that niched on offering faxing and other services to long-haul truckers. I’d offer it’s a sort about technology relevancy.
The one thing you can count in in technology is that change will arrive. I remember faxing stores as do many of you. It was an amazing innovation in the 1970s and maintained over 20+ years or relevancy by my count. I’m assuming this truck stop enjoyed gravy days along the way. But for whatever reason, it’s now irrelevant. Look closely and you don’t see the words “Internet” or “e-mail.” Indeed – it’s road kill on the Internet super highway.
You know where I’m going with this. Never in my career have I witnessed such madness as we define new business models using new technologies. I do know that investing backwards is a bad idea. I know that many start-ups fail but I applaud people who just “DO SOMETHING.”
There are options for all of us. Innovate and move forward. Retire (a noble endeavor) or stagnate. I’ll take door number one.
I plan to continue this discourse over the next few months and I always welcome your feedback. Join me at the SMB Nation Fall conference Sept 26-28 at Microsoft Redmond for more conversations. See fall2014.smbnation.com.
