Five-Year-Old-Itis

95 per cent of businesses I see at the moment have what we call five-year-old-itis.

Their problems are five years old; in the last five years, everything and nothing has changed.

How Old is Your Business Model?

95 per cent of businesses that I see and work with are based on five-year-old business models, based on five-year-old assumptions about who the customer is, what they think they are buying and why, their competitors, and so on.

What I do know is that just about every assumption you had about how customer and consumers behave/buy/pay/talk/share/discuss/choose/receive products and services has changed. With one set of key strokes I can tell thousands of friends what I think of you and your product (by Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn). Customers have always talked – but now they can talk to far more people than ever before.

Old-World Assumptions

My hunch is that five-year-old-itis is endemic nearly everywhere. Just about every startup has been built on old-world assumptions about customers, channels and products. Just about every existing business has done little to significantly change how they do things from the heady heights of 2007.

Sure you’ve made some cuts, maybe sacked a few people. Sure you’ve cut costs, maybe even got a new logo and a new website. But, have you really had a cold, hard look at your business and been prepared to make the tough, and required decisions?

So, quick fix or real fix? Your choice.