It may seem that there aren’t enough hours in the day to complete the tasks that absolutely have to be done, much less find the time to scan social media or gather marketplace information about emerging trends. And yet, successful executives regularly find the time and energy to exactly that. They keep up with trends and base their decisions on all of the information available, including their vision for the future, the risks they are willing to take to make that a reality, the company’s financial data, and their insights about the market and/or industry. It’s a large task to juggle this amount of data, but the best decisions are made using all of it.
Leaders who know their industry well are rarely blindsided by abrupt changes in the marketplace; rather, they have followed the trends closely enough to have anticipated the changes. They consistently track the actions of their competitors and correctly decide how to respond. They are probably regarded as the “go-to” people for information about marketplace shifts and how they are likely to affect the business.
But what if you aren’t one of these super-heroes with x-ray vision about the market and the future? What if you don’t know your industry very well or you tend to react to trends rather than proactively anticipating them? The truth is that people aren’t born with the ability to accurately assess the industry and the market; they learn these skills through trial, error, and determination to improve. As with any skill, awareness and practice will improve your abilities. Here are some suggestions that might help.
It’s true that life is very busy, and it is easy to allow daily activities to overwhelm your desire to keep informed about the industry and the market. However, successful executives regularly set aside a few hours per week to stay abreast of changing conditions, and their companies benefit from their efforts.