Embracing and Accepting Change May Make or Break Your Business

I drive a 2007 Subaru Outback.  Currently, the car is in the shop for some repairs and routine maintenance.  While in the shop, the dealer provided me with a brand new loaner Subaru Forester.  While using the cruise control, I noticed some very interesting additions to the features it provides.  It detected when I changed lanes.  And, the cruise control adjusted the speed of the car automatically according to cars in front of me.  As advertised, it can even stop the car before a collision happens.

Subaru Eyesight Technology

I have been reading for a few years that kids born today may not drive ever.  Sometimes these predictions seem like science fiction.  We are so focused on preserving the present that we often ignore potential future change.  Look at what happened to companies like Kodak, who held on to the idea that people would always print photos.  Cable companies are another good example.  What happens to cable when consumers get all their content online?  It is highly possible that the only thing keeping cable companies alive is HBO and ESPN.  Without cable, what happens to flat screen TVs?  Other industries, like taxies, are dealing with major competitors like Uber, which have huge competitive advantages by having no infrastructure.  All too often we put our head in the sand and say that these changes are not going to happen that fast.

As for the car industry, they are a perfect example of an industry that is unwilling to accept the future.  One article I read talked about the next consumer electronic being the car.  You may ask how a car can become a consumer electronic.  To answer the question, think about what will you be doing in your car when you are no longer driving it?  You will be watching movies or TV shows, checking Facebook, shopping, talking to friends, among other things.  It is highly unlikely that you will just sit there and enjoy the view.

Google Driverless Car

Over the past several years, Apple and Google have been investing heavily in autonomous car technologies.  Google has driven over 1 million miles with its autonomous cars without any major crashes.  What happens when Apple or Google start selling cars?  You may think that legislation will stop this from happening, but driving autonomously is legal right now as long as someone is sitting in the driver’s seat.  That is how Google has driven 1 million miles with their autonomous cars.

Now, let’s shift back to my loaner car.  The system that enables its fancy cruise control is called EyeSight Driver Assist Technology.  It turns out that it was introduced in Subaru’s 2015 models.  Now, it may seem somewhat simple for this system to adjust the speed of the car, but the extent to which this system performed was amazing to me.  I drove several dozens of miles, including traversing the downtown connector in Atlanta traffic, with the cruise control set at 78 miles an hour without touching the gas pedal or the brake.  The car would slow down and almost stop for traffic, if necessary, then resume speed when cars had cleared the lane.  During one trip, I drove from I-20 W onto I-75 / I-85 N, then exited at Northside Drive without touching the break.  I was even able to get off at the exit without touching the break.  At the very end of the exit ramp, I reengaged the car.

Driving with Cruise Control: From I-20W to Northside Drive in Atlanta

What is simply amazing about this feature is that it is available on a Subaru Forester for just under $30,000.  Now, changing lanes and managing stop lights and stop signs may seem like a far stretch from adjusting the speed of a car when cars are in front of you.  But, is it really that far of a leap?  If Subaru can create a feature like this for under $30K in a fully loaded automobile, are we really that far off from autonomous cars?

Whether it is autonomous cars or the end of cable, we often avoid accepting change as reality.  As entrepreneurs, this could make or break our businesses.  Although, it is just as bad as an entrepreneur to count on changes you cannot control before they happen, it very important to accept that change does happen.  Some industries may move slower than others, but we are in a time of exponential change.  Keeping aware of these changes and adjusting your future business model accordingly may make or break your business.

What changes are coming in the future of your business?  Are you prepared to address them if they happen?