"The knowledge economy has not served us well, and not delivered real, sustainable value for our stakeholders, our companies, and our world," David Taylor, author of the best selling book The Naked Leader, invites you to move into the next business age…

Over the last 20 years we have spent billions of global currencies on training, consultancy and so-called change initiatives and yet the vast majority of organisations have at best stood completely still, and most people remain unfulfilled.

Enough is enough

We need to move beyond The Information Age – the knowledge economy has not served us well, and not delivered real, sustainable value for our stakeholders, our companies, and our world.

We have plenty of knowledge, data and information, far more than we know what to do with. And by itself knowledge is nothing – our success comes down to:
Whether we choose to do anything with it
What we choose to do with it
Why we choose to do what we do

What has The Information Age delivered?

1. Cash over Cause
* What does your organisation stand for? What are your values? Ask these questions of different people and you may get many different answers.

* Failure has been too often rewarded -shareholders have had enough and the new power of corporate success will lie with these people, and your customers

* Business has not perceivably helped our world, with global surveys showing people have had enough of capitalism and greed

2. Confusion over Clarity
* The “change” agenda has delivered many things; sadly lasting change is not one of them. It has delivered chaos, with change for change's sake, with an initiative a day and little heed for impact on the real costs, the customer or people.

* Few people inside many organisations are clear on its vision and strategy, so imagine how confused your customers are.

* Empowerment and flat structures mean well, but they have not helped clarify who does what in an organisation, who is accountable, and how people’s daily jobs relate to the bottom line.

3. Change over Choice
* As people, we don’t like change, but we love to change other people. People will only ever do something to the best of their ability for one reason, and one reason alone, because they want to. It is time to move beyond “change programmes” to “choice programmes”.

* Another challenge is that “change initiatives” are so boring (wouldn’t you rather have deep root canal surgery than read another manual on Total Quality Management?), irrelevant (what has an academic tome on change got to do with our organisation?) and totally mistrusted (many companies hid behind change initiatives to make people redundant).

* The great irony is that organisations are changing all the time – so labelling it as “new” or “unique” is a complete misnomer, and totally confusing.

There Is Another Way

At its very heart lie the natural gifts, talent and potential you and your people already have. If we want the future to be different from the past, we have to do different things, think in a different way, and be different.

The next big thing is people…

Our challenge is that people are waiting for the next big thing. We must wait no more.

Welcome to The Next Business Age – The Leadership Economy, when we awaken the leaders within - unlocking the natural talent in your people, teams and organisation.

Many people will tell you to be more than you have become, others will inspire you to be the very best that you can be, it is time to be the very best that you already are.

People and Passion over Process and Procedure – The Choice Programme

It is time to reinvent our organisations, awaken the leaders within, and take control of your own future, before someone else does.

To be a next business great, put:

1. Cause over Cash
(The irony being that organisations will make more “cash” as a result.)

* Trust, ethics and integrity in all things and at all times – with corporate, social and world responsibility at the heart of all agendas. Your future success, and existence, depends on this.

* Business has a powerful role, and responsibility, to transform our world, and help our future generations inherit an earth of mutual respect, enlightenment and peace. To achieve this, Business must change its drivers so that instead of success being seen as rewards for a few, it is measured on the positive impact it has for the many.

* Everyone inside an organisation knows their role in helping make the dream come true, and feels a part of that dream.

2. Clarity over Confusion
* Radical simplicity – clear, concise and compelling actions and futures.

* Strip away the hype, the jargon and mystery surrounding your organisation.

* Reduce red-tape and processes to put power where it belongs – with people serving your customers – the number one aim of being in business is to attract, retain and delight your customers.

3. Choice over Change
(The irony is that organisations will at last deliver the changes they have always wanted.)
* Organisations don’t change, people do, and no-one has any true hold over anyone else. The paradox is that the only way to “control” your people is to set them free. It is time to choose from within, not change from without.

* Be free of any and all external dependence. Awaken the ideas, energy and personalities of your people.

* There are no answers anymore – best practice doesn’t work because what works in one organisation may not work in another. So it comes down to the choices we make.

Our Future can be different

In the past we have focused on recruiting people based on their technical skills…
It is time to recruit them on the basis of their attitudes, and personalities.

In the past we have focused on what is wrong with people…
It is time to focus on what is right with people.

In the past we have allowed too many others to control our futures…
It is time to take control of, and shape, our own destinies.

And when does this next business age begin?

Whenever you so choose.

Imagine

Imagine a future compelling in vision and full of unlimited possibilities, wonderful excitement and massive rewards.

Imagine if assured success was a specific formula, no longer a matter of chance, but now a matter of choice. And above all, just imagine if you could take that formula; apply it at every level, without any reliance on external forces.

Imagine no more. You are capable of achieving anything you wish, and more. When people awaken their potential, their imaginations, and their energies, the results are astounding. And it can happen to anyone, any team, any company, for any one person, group of people, or organisation. Once you embrace this idea and put it into action, you hold in your hands a power that is quite awesome.

It is time to reawaken a human spirit that has been dormant for far too long, for the benefit of all – you, your organisation, and our world. We say this to all leaders who are ready to achieve a professional and personal success they had previously never dreamed possible: please stand up, your time has come.

* David Taylor will speak about his vision of The Leadership Economy next month at the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) conference People @ the Heart of Leadership.