To Actually Transform

The buzz word of all buzz words. The always demanding requirement to transform, or undergo some sort of transformation. This is a common phrase in the business world, and either as a consequence or a root cause, self or personal transformation is also becoming a popular concept. Personal transformation, what does that actually mean?

It is very much like the cartoon that I watched on Saturday mornings called “transformers.” It was an alien species that hid on the planet in the form of common automobiles and when the need arose, they would transform into a power wielding robot. The point being that they changed from one object having one entirely discrete purpose to another object of a completely different purpose. Transformation effectively means to change.

In the business world this is a scary concept. It is said that almost 75% of the fortune 500 companies will no longer be companies in 15 years or they will shrink and delist as public companies. Industry transformation is happening everywhere in the business world. New companies are popping up everywhere with new ways of doing things with software and completely forcing the hand of every company that sells to, with or for that industry. Most of the time when we speak of transformation we are referring to a few key areas. First the transformation of the way we do things, or operational changes. These are usually to do things cheaper or faster or both. You are not transforming what you do, but rather how efficiently you do it. Uber has the same intended purpose as a Taxi, yet operationally this was completely transformative.

The next area of transformation has less to do with efficiencies, but more to do with how we even go about solving a problem. We are seeing this now in the movie business. The way people consume content for entertainment has almost completely changed now. Think about how that happened. Streaming companies did not suddenly transform the operational efficiencies of delivery movies to people, they changed much more. When you start to watch the first season of a show created in Amsterdam, translated to English for your consumption, contemplate what just happened there. It is not just that you are no longer renting movies. It is much larger than that.

The last is really transformative. Companies choosing to focus on something entirely different then what they were before. Manufacturing solar panels instead underground boring machines type of transformation. Sure both topics are in the domain of “energy” but vastly different in what the company does. This is probably true transformation, by the real intent of the word. Does Amazon really make all their money selling books online anymore? Where are they making their money. If you think you know, you better read their public disclosures. You will be surprised.

So with that, what could / are you doing to transform yourself personally? From these examples, transformation is not just getting a new job. Transformation is not about just losing a few pounds. Transformation is about completely changing what you do, how you do it and potentially even why you do it.

Guy Reams

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