BUSINESS HACK Alert! – Generational Kinetics

Scientifically a generation is an average of 25.5 years…
Depending on how you choose to calculate it, we’ve headed to the 4th in 100 years.

According to the Pareto’s 80:20 Principle, 80 percent of the wealth and power of any generation will always be owned by less than 20 percent of that generation. The rest 80 percent will work and be controlled by the minority 20 percent. The good news is, the people and trend are reshuffled every 25.5 years. Now than ever, Nigeria seeks a new generation of business executives and leaders. This Dynamics Is Natural. This is also because every 25.5 years business models and societal and political needs even in terms of technological advancement changes, so new opportunities emerge for new guys to take advantage of.

So, 25 years ago, Dangote would have looked at Abiola and aspired to be like him. Jeff Bezos would have looked at Bill Gates too. What generation are you?

Millennials refers to members of the generation born between 1975 to 1996 (The MTV Generations), to better have a graphical image, let’s say that they are those who watched Michael Jackson do the moon walk on TV while MJ was still alive. They birth Hip Hop. To them we owe a lot swag. They were super cool!

We also have the centennials or called the I-Generations or Generation Z. These centennials are the digital natives. They are those born after 1996. They really don’t have to use most technologies or gadgets with a manual. Rocket science isn’t that hard, it’s not rocket science to them for it has been automated. They rarely visit FAQ page of sites. They are very intuitive. It feels as if they had programming implanted during birth. They are super smart and very fast paced.

According to psychology, the three key trends that shape and differentiates generations are parenting, technology, and economics.

For example, many Baby Boomers have the parenting philosophy, “We want it to be easier for our kids than it was for us.” This philosophy, in turn, helped create and reinforce Millennials’ sense of entitlement, which is now a hotly debated topic.  Locally, these generation is what Buhari referred to as the “Lazy Nigerian Youth”.

The centennials are the digital natives. They really don’t have to use most technologies with a manual. It feels as if they had innate knowledges implanted during birth.

How does how these generation kinetics affects business models, the nation and their businesses and our role in leading the next 25.5years?

The Dynamics:

Currently, there is an app that can use your facial expressions when recording to know if you are lying. Imagine a political debate or job interview where it’s being used. That’s data in motion.

In this generation, data is the new currency.

Apple’s Siri is really smart, sapiosexuals with tech driven sexual orientations are already “toasting” the In-built iPhone assistant. With IBM’s Watson it’s not just a software, you can get legal advice (so far for more or less basic stuff) within seconds, with 90% accuracy compared with 70% accuracy when done by humans. So, if you study law, consider that as a competition too. There will be 90% fewer lawyers in the future, only specialists will remain. This is same for most industries.

• Watson already helps nurses diagnosing cancer, 4 times more accurate than human nurses.
• Facebook now has a pattern recognition software that can recognize faces better than humans.
• Autonomous cars already available. They can navigate without human input and have the capacity to sense the environment.
• Google Map can predict more accurately 20 time better where traffic will be than LASTMA can.

And more…

In the next 10 years, with safety, ergonometric and technology reducing any form of accidents at the same time when chemo, 3D printing of human parts, nanotechnology, biotechnology and more life support machines and dialysis centres will be more compact and affordable for all clinics, 70 percent of deaths will be structural and very predictable. So, I was talking to one of my techy mentees and he says “Mr Eizu, I may create an app that will help people calculate how many more years and days (up to how many seconds they will have more to live). It sounds scary yet valuable. That’s a fun way to make money.  He meant he will be very successful.

TIP: The future belongs only to businesses set up to revolutionise their industry. This is why I have been running a series called Disruptive Innovation. All businesses will be tech businesses too. Either become one or get consumed by one.

My Advice: Create an intelligent workforce that is tech and data driven and use that to build your business model.

Simplify that data, people don’t have time and don’t want to be bothered to do critical thinking, especially millennials and digital natives. Use data to know where your market and data will be. For example, Snapchat’s target market is the millennials. So, they design their products through its UI to suit them.

Who ever thought people will be able to buy cars and houses from mere blogging? I mean, there was no such career path just 10 years ago In Africa. I spoke to yellow cab taxi driver in Lagos a few days ago and he said that all they do is sleep more at the parks. He thinks people don’t have money for taxis anymore, he doesn’t know it’s because of Uber. Who ever thought that over a billion very intelligent and careful people including you will willingly submit their most personal details including names, emails, phone numbers, photos, where they live, things and who they love to Mark Zuckerberg? And it’s called Facebook.

Locally, no one saw these 20 years old start Interswitch, NotJustOKay, Hexavia, IrokoTV, or Jobberman to revolutionise their industries. Globally, who ever thought the biggest companies in the world would come out of nowhere in just 10 years and take over companies that have been in existence for centuries. The Likes of Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook is gunning to be the first trillion-dollar company. These companies are trying to revolutionise everything, but they were born out of people’s unquenched thirst to know everything, so they did it so easily.

TIP: Every generation becomes lazier, crazier and busier. Always remember this as you build a business.

It important to see anyone that walks into your store as extremely;

1. Lazy
2. Crazy and
3. Busy!

Technology, user experiences and information immunity from the syndrome of information overload is pioneering that of this generation.

Let me explain this:

1. They are so LAZY, that the likes of Sony over 2 generations ago invented the TV with a remote control and now Jumia, two generations after delivers them to their doorsteps. What did they both consider, and how did they leverage on it (Lazy=convenience). How can you make your product more convenient?
2. They are CRAZY. If your business is not exciting enough, no one will buy.  Coca Cola over a century ago, created a fizzy drink and attached excitement and propaganda out of that sugar Water – they turned Christmas colours from brown to red and white (colours of coke) and invented the concept of Santa Claus to back that up. Till today they are known to have one of the most exciting campaigns.
3. Your customers are so BUSY, such as to listen audio books while driving. How can you put your product in their schedule?

Think…

My dear, in this generation, people thrive to be different. Being different is woke.

Don’t be better, be different! It starts from creating a unique perception (brand), position, Blue Ocean Strategy, market, value…

THINK CREATIVELY!

For example:

1. Create a brand name or product line with a name either unique (Hexavia!), distinctive (Apple), easy to pronounce (Kodak) or easy to //DELETED… Property of ©The Hexavian Masterclass//.
2. Create a slogan that sticks and easy to understand. (Nike -just do it, Hexavia- Go Further, Ahead!).
3. Create a supERlative perception, biggER (ShopRite), fastER (Ferrari), youngER (Wizkid).
4. Create your own Category; Like Asa, GT, Benz, Eizu, Virgin Galactic (an airline that will take people to space)

Pioneer something in this generation. It doesn’t have to be a brand-new invention, maybe just a remix. E.g. Listerin was the first mouthwash, it’s effective but harsh in taste. So, P&G introduced the first “good-tasting” mouthwash (a new category with different flavours!)

My dear, success and business in a dynamic world of generational Dynamics and kinematic isn’t rocket science. It’s a game! And to win, you have to…//DELETED… Property of ©The Hexavian Masterclass//.

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