The recent meteoric rise of Tesla, SpaceX and SolarCity have got me wondering how Elon Musk has been so successful in betting all his chips on industries that are heavily controlled and established by extremely powerful industry and government insiders for so many decades. Taking on the automotive industry and the energy sector backed by Big Oil is no small feat; as is embarking on a private Space venture which to date has been a heavily regulated and government controlled area of business. Although at face value Musk’s ventures are extremely high risk in nature, there seems to be a method to his madness. Musk is not just gambling on the imminent changes to society to eventually happen. Like others before him, he is what can be labelled a Proactive Leader. A futurist at heart, Musk recognizes that in order to be successful you need to anticipate future changes and be proactively involved in making those changes happen. Obviously timing plays a key component in being successful, and Musk, like other great visionaries of the past, understands that there is a small window to strike while the iron is hot.
History Proves Proactivity Works
You do not have to go back too far to see how history has repeated this formula. Like Musk, Steve Jobs had a similar experience with the iPod and iPhone. As a proactive leader, he pioneered the smartphone industry while at the same time changed the music industry by leveraging the mass access to broadband connectivity. Jobs recognized the technological and societal readiness for his new vision and proactively pushed it forward, ultimately leading to Apple’s incredible success. Similarly, Henry Ford popularized the automobile with his Model T Ford by proactively
revolutionizing manufacturing to facilitate the delivery of an affordable vehicle to the masses. This can all go back to Einstein’s famous quote – “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” Time and time again, history has proven that a proactive investment in a risky venture and/or business can be the difference between disastrous failure and incredible success.
Expand your PSA Initiative by Being Proactive
Today’s services firms face a similar challenge. The professional services industry is increasingly global in nature, in which fragmented teams need to work and collaborate as well-oiled machines in order to maintain their competitive edge. Beyond streamlining processes, professional services organizations need to proactively find new methods and opportunities to adapt to their constantly evolving market. In this context, increased visibility is required so that a proactive approach can be applied. With services firms, this starts with their prospects before they are fully engaged customers. Integrating the tracking of prospects into your professional services automation (PSA) vision will allow an organization to proactively prepare their organization for spikes and drops in business that can impact the effectiveness and quality of customer service while maintaining consistent growth and profitability. The future of PSA needs to be more customer-centric. This means, that the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategy needs to be intricately linked to a services firm’s PSA strategy. Consequently, the ability to easily integrate both CRM and PSA will provide a solution that encourages the necessary proactive behavior for the future. Furthermore, only those with a proactive approach will have the potential to pioneer and participate in the development of the services industry of the future, as well as lead the pack in delivering the best services possible.
About the Author: Neil Stolovitsky has over 15 years of IT experience with end-user, consulting, and vendor organizations, along with extensive expertise in business development, software selection, and channel strategies. He has published numerous white papers and articles covering Professional Services Automation, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) for service industries, Project Portfolio Management, IT Governance, and New Product Development to a global audience. Neil currently holds the position of Senior Solution Consultant with Upland Software.
To learn more about Upland Software’s Enterprise PSA offering PSA, go to: uplandsoftware.com/psa