Business today, actually our culture today is all about the right now. Take the recent spending spree in Washington. Fixing today’s problems without regard to the future. This is not a political blog, so I will stop right there with the politics.
Have you ever stopped to think about how short of time we are here doing our work. Wether you are building a business, working for a corporation, in ministry somewhere, whatever you do, you will not do it very long. Think about the world 40 or 50 years ago. What was the world like in 1959? How has our world changed? Quite a bit in a really a short time. Think of the people that were movers and shakers in 1959 – The Barbie doll was introduced, Alaska and Hawaii had become part of the USA, people were watching Bonanza and the Twilight Zone for the first time. Just 50 years ago.
Now, think ahead 50 years, most of us reading this will not be here. We will be dead and gone. This leaves me to think what I am I doing today that will last 50 years. My daughter will be 57 years old, in the prime of her life, what kind of world am I leaving for her. What kind of shape am I leaving the place I work in so that in 50 years it is still going strong.
Businesses will come and go, I happen to work for one that has been around for over 100 years. There is rich history, but sometimes a company like this will struggle with the change necessary to maintain the next 50 years. That is also another topic for another day.
Work today with the long term future in mind, not just the immediate. How can you build your business to be sustainable, not just go after the here and now.
Posted by Scott Mills 
