How to Become Irrelevant

A recent example of a brand that lost its way and then its marketplace lead is Nokia Nokiaamp8217s handset division ignored the launch of the iPhone In 2007 Nokia had 49 of the global smartphone market and in 2013 it was sold to Microsoft for a fraction of its value It is difficult to imagine that any company or individual would strive to go out of business so why does it happenLetamp8217s start with the definition of irrelevant which is amp8220not connected with or relevant to somethingamp8221amp160 All you need to do to become irrelevant is to lose connection with your audience in the case of a media company or become less relevant to your customers in the case of a brand or retailer How did the CEOs of Circuit City Borders and Blockbuster ensure their companies stayed relevant amp160How did the publishers of Life or Look magazine respond to changing readership habits and new platformsCompany extinctions are preventable The opportunity to create new models in todayamp8217s white space has never been brighter New technology platforms and changes in consumer behavior are accelerating change while creating new market opportunities The world in 2015 is very different from 2010 Software tools and cloud computing are producing new products drastically reducing the time and cost to create themIn todayamp8217s world change happens in months rather than years Why In 2015 the world is a 247 global economy where millions of engineers scientists corporations universities and entrepreneurs are racing to find new ways to navigate and improve everyday life and business Charles Darwin said amp8220Intelligence is based on how efficient a species became at doing the things they need to surviveamp8221 Successful leaders and their teams focus on using their intelligence to stay connected and relevant to their consumersusersIn todayamp8217s marketplace the cost of staying connected and relevant to a companyamp8217s customers should be part of the business planning process and a key metric reviewed quarterly by Wall Street analysts Political candidates are measuring their brand appeal and adjusting their messages and media mix daily Companies should apply this practice to their businessesPepsiCo understands the urgency to act Indra Nooyi CEO of Pepsi says amp8221every morning youamp8217ve got to wake up with a healthy fear that the world is changing and a conviction that to win you have to change faster and be more agile than anyone elseamp8221When a companyamp8217s vision is out of sync with its consumeramp8217s need and its organization is out of internal alignment with their view of the customer it is in the danger zone To be successful companies need to have their vision in alignment with the marketplace and to have their team solidly behind the vision A visionsync process is an essential part of the annual planning process It facilitates internal alignment for marketplace opportunities and transformation It is the way successful companies guard against becoming irrelevantThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageMyersBizNet management or associated bloggers

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How to Become Irrelevant

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How to Become Irrelevant

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