Why I’m Banking On Change
So the wheels are finally in motion. I have quit my cushy job and I am about to leave my family, friends and 2006 Corolla behind in order to seek a career change in the US of A (with a quick first stop to Central America to learn Spanish).
I have known for ages that I needed to live and work overseas. But in the last few months I have been contemplating what my real motivation is?
One thing that has always scared the shit out of me was envisaging my 50 year old self. I was still living in the same 5km radius of where I grew up and still hanging out in the same circles wondering ‘why didn’t I ever take that risk and try living overseas?’. Maybe I just grew complacent? Or perhaps it was all just too hard when everything at home was so easy and comfortable.
No doubt the fear of growing old and wondering ‘what if?’ motivates me. But I have also known for a while that I need to change what I do.
I’ve had everything going for me. I have grown up as a white male, in a stable and well off family. My career has mirrored this privilege. Working at established companies in finance has allowed me to gain some great skills, while meeting some awesome people along the way. However this same experience has made me absolutely sure that I need a change up.
For one, established industries often focus on stability and security as their bedrocks. They have done so for many years and usually for good reason. For example where do you think the expression ‘as safe as a bank’ came from? Nowadays this culture is out of whack with the ever increasing pace of tech. Knowing these modern expectations, established companies try to appease shareholders and the market with short term solutions such as releasing a new feature, taking over a startup or spruiking new ‘agile’ policies. I can’t help but compare these to Gorbachev’s Perestroika, too little and too late.
It is clear that many established companies have lost their ‘why’, and really lack a deep understanding and belief in what they are doing. You can see this yourself by taking a stroll on most office floors. Almost immediately you will notice that a lot of workers are setting up meetings, reporting to management, responding to emails or completing bureaucratic templates in excel. As Tim Ferriss would question, they may be efficient but are they really being effective? Is this adding value to the company’s bottom line? When I combine these observations with reports like McKinsey’s that claim that up to 30% of jobs will be displaced by tech in as little as 10 years, something dawned on me. Not only has my learning plateaued and motivation waned, but if I don’t do something there is a real chance my job will disappear too.
Strategically many companies are still reluctant to follow a customer first strategy. Overused examples of Blockbuster and Kodak convey the need to continually meet and exceed customers growing expectations. Amazon from day one has epitomised this and led to their initial disruption of the book industry. Which has now expanded into retail and publishing. Their latest cashierless concept stores are just another insight into their future ambitions.
Nonetheless in the face of more and more examples of the need to place the customer first, industry laggards are still reluctant and continue to rely on customer inertia. Ironically these industries also often rely on regulation to provide a competitive moat. Meaning the regulation they are often complaining about is actually the best protection they have against potential competitors.
All this provides me with further reassurance about my decision toleave the world of established businesses and take the plunge overseas. I am not claiming to know where the disruptors are going to come from. They could be a company that harnesses the blockchain or another revolutionary piece of tech. However I have conviction that we are on the precipice of significant change, and this along with being terrified about wondering ‘what if’ leaves me at ease with my imminent move.