Start thinking about the future

Just recently I asked an entrepreneur, approximately my age, about his plans for the future of his company. When did he plan to retire? He immediately answered that he was too busy thinking about this; his business was – after the recent crisis – rapidly growing and thinking about long-term issues was not on his list of priorities right now. His aim was to “rebuild” the company, increase the turnover and especially the margins, all of which were seriously damaged over the past few years. “Besides,” he said, “I am not that old yet, only 59, and my energy levels are as they were in my thirties.”

This is typical for family businesses nowadays. Businesses earned a lot of money in their early days, but since they had to dig into their reserves during the crisis, they are now trying to rebuild and make the company grow again. All of this takes so much time and attention, that management and owner(s) hardly take any time to think about the future further along.

Rethinking the future on a regular basis is always a necessity, though. The world changes, customers change, technologies change, politics change, people change. New challenges require new or at least adapted roadmaps for the future. New roadmaps require new and different actions, and perhaps new leadership, management and support.