Fear of Change and Its Barrier to Growth

Jeff Bezos launched Amazon.com on July 16, 1995 with a vision of a virtual bookstore powered by (relatively uncharted) e-commerce technology. He built a strategy, took a chance, and within a few short months, Amazon had sold books in 45 different countries. Sales hit $20,000 a week – astounding for a start-up in any industry.

Some executives would have been content with these results. But as we know, Bezos didn’t let the fear of uncharted territory slow the company’s innovation, which has resulted in a record of tremendous growth and success.

Case studies like Amazon illustrate the value of strategic vision rooted in an organization that embraces a culture of collaboration and innovation. Yet when faced with strategic planning, many management level executives are inclined to believe that what has worked in the past will continue to generate growth and profitability in the future.

It’s this contentment with the short-term that keeps organizations from taking advantage of the growth opportunities that exist in their market.

When management embraces change, they can innovate in the planning process and better assess resource allocation. For instance, what may seem profitable in the short term may not actually satisfy higher-level goals. It’s the responsibility of management to recognize those discrepancies and implement operational solutions before issues arise.

Amazon has continued to create success by keeping its corporate eye on the long term and by basing core strategy on perpetual business truths (like the customer desire for low prices and quality service). As a result, Amazon has become the largest online retailer in history. Annual online sales exceed $40 billion. And even today, the company follows tenets like, “invent and simplify” and “think big."

Community banking can learn some valuable lessons from the Amazon story. Many of the fundamentals of banking don’t change, so it’s easy to fall in the trap of being content. Yet opportunities exist for banks to innovate in areas like digital banking and using big data to better serve their client base. In fact, there’s a higher risk in not innovating for the long-term than there is in settling in and focusing on short-term results based on past performance. 

Are you aligning your operations and strategies to meet your long-term vision?