I may sound like a broken record here but, the title says it all, the Future Of Business is between your ears. There is so much confusion about how business will be done in the next 5 – 10 years, all you have to do is talk to the under 20 generation (Gen C ) and you will get a glimpse into the future, what they want, how they will go about getting it,and how they will build business.

I recently spoke at The World Futurist Society Conference in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, I opened my talk by letting everyone know, I was only trying to get between their ears, to open their mind. I was blessed to have met one of my online digital mentors, he also took in my session and was a good sport, Glen Hiemstra, I am blessed and honored that you gave me 90 minutes of your time. I can only hope I can return your generosity.

One of the biggest surprises for me was, only 25% at best were using Twitter and other Social Networks, most were using FaceBook though.  And this was a Futurist Conference! Did I mention I hate FaceBook? Ya that probably offended someone : ) Why does that seem odd too me? You would think if anyone was going to be leading the way with technology, it would be the majority of this group. This is not to put down the World Futurist Society in any way, it is an observation that I found interesting and somewhat disappointing.

I shared the Open & Free Business Model, much of the content was from my workshops, and I can tell you there was much resistance, but I called them on it. I asked out loud, why are business owners reluctant to give something away content, product or service without payment, why is Free not acceptable, but when another business provides a product or service, they are first in line to get it. Harsh? Maybe. I was merely asking the question why are we like that as business owners, and then turn around and say we want to make the world a better place. The reason most likely is, we all want to make the world a better place based on our terms, not someone else’s.

I provided many examples of how this model might look for them and their business, I was very open & transparent about how I felt, what tools I used, how I make my living, and where I made money, and yet there was still skepticism. Which proves the point, the problem is not how to do something, it’s between the ears, how we think about business, how business has been moving towards free. Free merely means this, free takes you to a place where you can be asked to be paid. The secret ingredients, packaging and giving an experience consumers can’t get anywhere else, even for free. You’ve read that here over and over again, I’ve said it hundreds of times at speaking engagements, but it’s still a challenge for most business owners. My work is geared towards helping you pay attention to what’s going on from a Paradigm Shift, business is going digital faster than you and I can keep up with, at least lift your head up and take notice. In my community, we are probably 18 months behind the rest of the world, that spells tragedy in my books.

When I asked what I see, I always respond with, “I See Dead Businesses”, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

The Open & Free Business Model is more about how you think towards Open & Free, yes there are some common denominators and basic steps to take in your strategy, but it’s how you think mostly, it’s between your ears.

THE GOOD NEWS!

If you need help changing the way you think towards the Future of Business, there is much here on this blog to help you get started, you have to work for it. You could follow me on Twitter & Google+ and various other Social Networks and chat with me, pay attention to the content I share, that’s free! That’s another hot tip, Pay With Attention. Or, you could hire me to come and help you and your organization, to help you prepare for the changes that are already under way. Changes that impact the way you do business in the future.