Is Your Company Still Trying To Build The Perfect Typewriter?

I’m looking directly at the anniversary edition of the IBM Selectric typewriter that my father used, God rest his soul. I remember it was hardly used, why? Because the typewriter became obsolete with the birth of the personal computer and on demand word processing.  This all came very soon after he bought this “state of the art machine”.    IBM got caught (albeit, have since reinvented themselves very well) and had to close their brand new massive Lexington, Kentucky typewriter manufacturing plant!  Some thoughts come to my mind about the future of American Business in 2010:

• Will Blockbuster and other DVD rental businesses continue to try to build a perfect disk rental commerce model or will direct downloading companies like Netflix, Comcast, etc. send them the way of the typewriter?
• Will school product fund raising companies (i.e. companies that have consumer goods sold on a catalog by schools raising money for trips, playground equipment etc) make the jump to real ebusiness or will they continue to try build the legacy selling catalog with the same old products?
• Will telephone companies still be dominant or will the world go to free internet video calling via SKYPE etc?
• Will offshore oil drilling still be as critical as a long  term energy source  after the Louisiana spill or will drilling domestically abundant natural gas move to the fore front?
• Will Big Box store front flat screen TV companies continue to convince the customers they have the lowest prices, or will more and more patrons buy direct over the internet and have deliveries right to their homes for a lot less cost?
• Is your company still struggling because it is still trying to build the world’s best typewriter or is it re-inventing itself for the future?

Surviving companies today need to think long and hard about 2010 and beyond.  Improve your long term vision, bring new skills to your workers, and reinvent your business model for the future. The economy is still struggling but you need to think ahead if you want a future in a global landscape.  Pay attention to what worked, what doesn’t, and now what will work in the next 5 years. Don’t you be stuck being a typewriter company in a changing digital age. JMHO.