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The Value of Change

Written by: Jay Conrad Levinson

Article Overview: Marketing people can be divided into two categories: those who resist change and those who welcome change. Guerrillas are in the second category. They not only welcome change, but they also are ready for change and respond to change.

The Value of Change

Marketing people can be divided into two categories: those who resist change and those who welcome change. Guerrillas are in the second category. They not only welcome change, but they also are ready for change and respond to change.

They realize that change is inevitable and that if they resist change, they are falling behind. Change has never taken place as rapidly as it is right now, and that pace will pick up as we move into the new millennium. Guerrillas have learned that Peter Drucker was right on target when he said the only two valid business purposes are to create customers and to innovate. They recognize that if they can innovate and adapt, they can prosper.

They know that the best changes must come from themselves. A lone inventor developed the variable-speed windshield wipers now used on all cars. When a major car manufacturer was asked why they hadn’t developed it, they responded simply that their customers had never asked for it. That’s the attitude in most businesses. But it’s not a hallmark of guerrilla businesses. They know that change is their responsibility.

Although they know in their hearts the value of commitment to a plan, they also realize that flexibility is more crucial now than ever before. Rather than being thrown off balance by the future, they’re keenly aware of what the future holds for them. This awareness comes from their clear view of the present.

From Louis Patler’s enlightening new book, "Don’t Compete -- Tilt the Field," we get that clear view of the present to help you see into the future. Prepare to be astonished by what you see:




On average, around the world, an innovation in digital technology is copyrighted every three seconds. That’s no misprint; that’s a fact.

In the U.S. in l960, there were approximately 5,000 people over 100 years old. In l996, there were 1,000,000. By 2010, that number will rise to over 5,000,000. In the western hemisphere, a child born in 2000 can expect to live well into the twenty-second century.

As movie theaters gained popularity with the advent of TV, libraries are gaining popularity in tandem with the Internet. High tech seems to generate a commensurate need for high touch.

World export of services and intellectual property in many countries now equals the export value of electronics and automobiles combined. In the U.S., intellectual property is now our biggest export.

More than half of many companies’ revenues, from technology to food service to banking, comes from products and services that didn’t exist two years ago.

1996 was the first year that PC sales outpaced the sales of TV sets. In many nations, there was more email than snail mail.

By 2002, there was a 5000 percent increase in the number of telecommuters worldwide.

Computer power today is 8,000 times less expensive than in l966. The same progress in the auto industry would mean you could get a BMW for $2 and it would travel 600 miles on a thimble of gasoline.

In some parts of the world, online subscriptions are growing at the rate of 20 percent per month.

Even though there’s been a huge technology explosion, the average employee of a multi-national corporation in l997 worked 20 percent more hours and slept 20 percent fewer hours than in l986.

In l984, the average product development cycle was three years. In l997, it was six months. And it’s getting shorter each year.

On average, multi-national corporations listed on the New York and Tokyo stock exchanges lose half their customers within five years, half their employees every four years, and half their investors in less than one year.
These companies undergo dramatic changes from top to bottom.


Your job as a guerrilla is to know the difference between a change and an improvement and to gear your company to embrace improvements, adapt to the future, and innovate rather than stagnate. I hope the changes I’ve just listed motivate you to review your marketing, your target audience, your marketing weapons and your marketing mindset.

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  Ambush
  Will Your Salespeople Change Behaviors to Improve Their Effectiveness?
  Change Ready Companies Experience Faster Success in Sales Development
  Making the Case for Change
  To Change or Not To Change

Article Tags: 100 years, attitude, car manufacturer, cars, digital technology, flexibility, guerrilla, guerrillas, hallmark, hearts, innovation, lone inventor, new millennium, pace, peter drucker, target, valid business purposes, variable speed, western hemisphere, windshield



Related Forum Posts
Re: Spellcheck? - [quote="TheAnonymousMan":2f894q6j]When discussing the majority of people I would definitely say that most people hit the "Change" or "Ignore" button without thinking too much about the correct spelling of a word. All bosses are concerned about is getting the report to the Directors meeting on time.[/quote:2f894q6j] That probably depends on what the "majority" are trying to accomplish. I have word set to alert me about misspellings and grammatical problems, so I fix most as I go. But I also add names etc to the dictionary because I get tired of seeing the red and green squiggles when I know the info is right. If you're only going to click "Change" or "Ignore" then why bother to take the time to use spell check????? Business people that I work for want the info compiled in a timely manner and they want it right - which is fine because that's the way I strive to do any project. Sending out a memo, letter, report etc with obvious spelling and grammatical mistakes makes the person and the company look bad as far as I'm concerned. Shri
Re: e-Commerce and e-Payment providers - Hi GT It is only fairly recently that people in South Africa have been able to get full use of Paypal as we were only able at one time to make payments but not receive them. Fortunately this has now changed. I have received money through Global X Change for one of the affiliate programs that I promote and have found them pretty good as the money is normally transferred directly into my bank account within 2-3 days and I have not had any problems with them. MichelleJ
Re: Obama Wants Social Security for Illegals - [quote="Alan Mater":3kaa8sg4] Obama WILL make changes... but they're not the changes we as a country need or should look forward to.[/quote:3kaa8sg4] Sad but this is exactly how I feel about it. Change is coming - but unless I'm really wrong, it is not a change this country needs. Amazing how much a good speaker with a good speech writer can do. If you paid attention to the things he said "off script" - much of it is frightening. Chris
Are you an Opportunity Addict? - 1) if you find yourself saying yes without thinking about how it will affect your other priorities 2) you have over 10 projects/inventions going on at the same time and this seems normal to you 3) you have spent hundreds and thousands of dollars on manufacturing, prototypes, etc. not to mention thousands of hours of your time....but you havent followed through on any of it 4) most of your projects are falling behind or have completely fallen off your radar....which is fueling your frustration The first step in recovery is to recognize this as a pattern of self sabotage. If you are clear in what your overall goals and objectives are, you should be able to create a lens through which you measure opportunities. You create your life, and your to do list. Change, Add, Remove, Adjust time-lines - whatever you like. But remember that every piece of unfinished business - stays that way J
You are too young - I don't really believe (I've been into web designing for 7 years now... I started in 2000) there is any web design laws. Besides the fact that you can't use copyrighted images on web design without permission from the original author. Also, any web designs you do you may want to have it copyrighted so other's can't steal your idea's or whatever... of course, you can offer a "Copyright Change" option for a bit more money that will allow you to be able to transfer the copyrights and give exclusive rights to the purchaser. All in all, don't worry about the laws... you should be fine, just remember that if your in the U.S. that if your making over $400 (or maybe its $600) in revenue, you'll have to pay taxes to the government... and please get a LLC, although its not a big thing with web designs, you could get into legal trouble somewhere in the business. Lastly, use contracts for when your selling or use agreements to clear the air so that you can have a safe business and you'll have some backing up if you ever are taken to court.


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