We work in a fast-paced landscape, where the new technologies are launched and then become obsolete before many people had a chance to become proficient. You need to be thinking about what’s next all the time. You have to make sure that your business is continuing to evolve so that it doesn’t get left behind.

Let’s look at some of the things you can do to future proof your business.

Read, Read and Read

Have you ever looked up to someone but can’t afford their time for one-on-one coaching? Grab their book because it’s the cheapest way to get their best condensed thinking in a quick package.

You can learn so much with a minimal investment. As shown in The Miracle Morning, just 10 pages a day of reading will net you 12 business books in a year. If you don’t have the time, then make the most of traveling and walking by listening to podcasts and audiobooks to teach you.

Reading can force your mind to attract, retain, and cultivate new knowledge and skills. Leaders who read can get into continuous learning loops that allow them to be more empathetic and collaborative, rather than commanding and controlling. If you feel you need more than self-teaching, have a look at schooling like a BS in organizational leadership to get your knowledge really up to scratch.

Embrace Innovation

Innovation includes everything — how you take your product to market, how you serve your customer, and how you come up with effective pricing. Everything keeps changing so you need to embrace the changes, adopt the innovations that work for you and so what you can innovate yourself in your business to generate more revenue.

This is also where you put your reading into action. Instead of mindlessly letting your eyes glance across the page, take one or two items in each book and put them into action.

Apply Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

As Artificial Intelligence and machine learning continue to evolve and mature, it’s time for every company to start experimenting with the many ways these technologies can help organizations work smarter, better, and faster.

I use DevonThink in my writing research due to it’s AI. DevonThink helps me by scanning all my research files and finding relations that I would never have found on my own.

Approach Cyber Risk

You need to understand security and decide how to approach this risk for the future. Once you know this, you also need to share your approach with your employees and so that everyone is aware. There may not be time to brief everyone when a cyber attack hits so just like a fire drill; you need to get everyone prepared beforehand.

At the very least, for freelancers, make sure that you have a solid backup strategy. I use BackBlaze, SuperDuper! and Time Machine as my regular backup routine. On top of that, many of my files are in Dropbox or iCloud which are backed up across many data centers.

Adapt for a Remote Working

Employees and employers alike are both eager to adopt a more remote approach to work as flexible working options lead to a better work-life balance for staff at the same time as lowering overhead costs for businesses. You need to invest in your tools to support this and be able to offer it to future employees.

As a remote worker for over 10 years, I know it’s important to get your own personal productivity in place so that you can stay on task at home. I know it took me months to get properly productive. If you’re looking for tips to get focused at work then check out my book The Art of Focus.

Close The Skills Gap

Employees in the next ten years will need skills that are currently underrepresented in higher education. Business owners and directors can create training and educational initiatives for today’s youth based on the skills they will need in tomorrow’s workplaces. Without a proactive effort to close the skills gap, recruiting employees with the knowledge and experience you need is only going to get harder.

The future can be in some ways uncertain, but it’s also very exciting. There are opportunities for workers to enjoy greater freedom and flexibility than ever before and the workforce of the future promises to be more productive than ever – as long as companies are ready for its arrival.

Photo by: improbcat

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