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turn-off for these buyers and once
they sense any type of selling, they
move on to the next company. What is
working though are apps and servic-
es that connect people to what they
want. Companies like Postmates don’t
sell any products, but they allow you
to get whatever you want delivered to
wherever you are. According to Ian Alt-
man, “We are in the connection econ-
omy. Uber is the largest taxi company,
yet it has no physical assets and can
still deliver rides easily to its custom-
ers. We should see more businesses
like Uber on the rise.”
9. Strength-based training
versus remedial leadership
You have probably heard the old ad-
age, “do what you are good at, not
what you love.” The same goes for
the workplace. Up until recently, peo-
ple hired for the same position were
all taught the same skill. Now, com-
panies are hiring specialists to come
in and focus on doing one particular
task, until they perfect it. At my po-
sition at Keck Medicine of USC, I am
not required to learn the in depth de-
tails of all our marketing strategies. I
just have to focus on what we are do-
ing at a digital level, honed specifical-
ly in on social media. According to Ian
Altman, Gallup Research shows that
productivity increases 21% when em-
ployees are doing something they
love. In 2017, businesses will invest
more in training that focuses on a
leader’s natural talent than on reme-
dial leadership training.
10. Products becoming
green
Millennials are quite conscious of
what types of products they buy. They
turn off the sink when they brush their
teeth. They shut off the water in the
shower when they are shampooing
their hair. They even go out there and
actively look for socially conscious com-
panies to purchase from, because they
care about the earth and want to make
sure it’s still here for when they are old,
and when their children grow old. “Go-
ing green” is a term that’s been around
for a while. However, it has only recent-
ly been taken more seriously as compa-
nies have developed more products to
help push this mission forward. Already,
over $500 million has been saved in
energy efficiency and we should expect
to see this grow in 2017 as these green
products increase.
Look out for these trends
in 2017
These changes are going to happen.
And because of that, you need to be
ready for the drastical changes in the
next few years as Millennials make up
more of the work force and become tar-
get customers. If you expect to survive
as a business, you will want to modify
your business in 2017 to follow these
popular trends.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.
com columnists are their own, not
those of
Inc.com. PUBLISHED ON:
OCT 12, 2016 on
INC.com