The talk in some quarters of business is of the emergence of a paradigm shift in consumer thinking. And how solutions rooted in the past won’t solve the problems of today.
But what is this paradigm shift and what are its implications?
Historically, business has been preoccupied with two things – profit and growth – often at the expense of anything (or anyone) else. But in the current economic climate this is proving more difficult as people are not spending as much on the things they provide. Now, they (and Governments) are panicking because this isn’t happening.
Consumers (in other words people like you and I) are beginning to reject the need for more stuff. We’re recognising that enough can be enough and the value systems that brought us here need to change. The modern world has been born out of some incredible innovations, individual determination and a collective desire for progress. But progress has always been defined in economic terms, not humanistic. Where there was money, there was often little meaning. And this is the paradigm shift.
AS MORE PEOPLE LOOK FOR MORE MEANING, BUSINESSES SEE THEY ARE NOT TUNED TO THIS COLLECTIVE SHIFT IN CONSCIOUSNESS. THEY ARE LOOKING FOR ANSWERS BUT THE NUMBERS WILL TELL ONLY THEM WHAT’S NOT HAPPENING, NOT WHY.
They are systematically failing to connect with people on any level. But it’s more than simply being out of touch. It’s about meaning, relevance and authenticity.
Running focus groups may give some clues but the answers lie within these organisations themselves. As employee engagement continues to drop, net promoter scores fall and sales slow, the common thread running through these results is one of meaning. Or lack of it.
MEANING MAKES COMPANIES RELEVANT. RELEVANCE MAKES THEM COMPETITIVE. BUT IN ORDER TO COMPETE WELL, THEY NEED TO BE AUTHENTIC.
As we move from the Piscean Age whose mantra was ‘I believe therefore I will experience” to the Aquarian age whose mantra is ‘I experience therefore I believe’, these organisations will have to recognise that people require them to be worthy of making money. And any business that refuses to acknowledge this paradigm shift will soon become a fish out of water.
