|
Business Model Comparison: Industrial Age vs. Information Age
by
Debra Lea Thorsen
Corporations were birthed in the Industrial Age during a time
when mass manufacturing was the engine of the economy. The early
scions of capitalism looked to the US military for a model of
how to structure their organizations. The "Classic Business
Model" that they used is based upon a hierarchical, command-and-control
structure.. The classic business model works reasonably well when
you need to mass produce widgets and are not looking for any innovation
or variability in the process. The model breaks down in the Information
Age when a company's survival depends upon innovation, individual
employee ingenuity and problem solving, fast time to market of
new products, and collaboration with customers.
Below is a comparison of the Classic Business Model and the New
Business Model. This is a generalization and so it is pretty black
and white. The truth is that most companies fall somewhere in
between the two models - in the grey zone where most of us live.
Many companies are trying to shift to the New Business Model,
but their corporate culture remains firmly entrenched in the Classic
world. So, for now, most companies still have rules of behavior
and values that are left over from the Industrial Age.
In my experience, I have found that the values inherent in the
Classic Business Model include:
- short term profits
- competition
- uniformity
- certainty
- wages for hours spent on the jobsite
Rules of behavior for succeeding in a Classic culture include:
- be aggressive
- communicate directly and succinctly
- self-promotion is required; compete with your co-workers for
kudos
- never admit you do not know something
- delegate
Each company will have its own values and rules for behavior.
I work with my clients to explore these aspects of the corporate
culture to determine if my clients share these values and are
comfortable with the behavior required to succeed in their company.
I don't focus on what is "right" or "wrong"
but whether it works for my individual clients.
|
