Disruptions are part of our lives. They always have been, and they always will be. In business, a disruption could be a change in technology, a recession, a change in legislation, a new business model, or many other things. Sometimes they feel like an inconvenience, and other times they seem to turn the world completely upside down. So, we often get frustrated and complain about them. We even try to ignore disruptions and hope they will go away. That’s because we’re human.
But disruptions are increasing in frequency and in magnitude. At Interstates, we want to change our mindset about them. We want to embrace them and see the challenges and opportunities that they provide. Disruptions give us the chance to make a difference with our clients and to stand out from the crowd.
One of the disruptions I mentioned was a recession. It may not always feel like it, but we’re currently living in the Good Ole Days. We’ve all benefitted from the 11-year economic run in the United States. One of the byproducts of this long run is that, for the last 9 years, people have been predicting the next recession. And so far, all those people, including some of us at Interstates, have been wrong.
While we’ve been wrong for years, we do know that a recession (disruption) is coming. Our focus is not on predicting when it will come but being prepared for it. This will allow us to serve our clients well, while also developing our people.
My challenge to you is to look at all disruptions differently. Find the opportunities and determine how you can make a difference.
Scott Peterson, CEO