Rip Van Winkle Effect

I have been struck often recently with the thought of the old story about Rip Van Winkle, the man who wakes up after sleeping for a number of years and sees how time has passed and the world has changed - it has become almost unrecognizable to him.

How we do business in the communications industry and many others has changed. It looks and feels different. We still seek to engage our stakeholders to influence their perceptions and behavior. However, we have added some new ways of doing it, and some old ways have gotten less important.

For in this world of constant change with technology washing over us in new ways daily, a king-sized recession, and rule changes about how we communicate with each other and get our information (among ALL age groups!), things are changing at lightning speed. Without a mental shift, openness to innovation and new ways of doing things, I sense that a number of people are going to wake up one day and reemerge only to find that the world has completely changed despite their best efforts to keep it the same...

Those who look for ways to reinvent, retool and reeducate will stay on top and those who do not may stare straight in the face of the Rip Van Winkle effect.
Happy holidays!