I start nearly every day by checking email. You may hop in the shower or choke down a breakfast bar.

Some finish dressing with sock-shoe-sock-shoe. I’m a sock-sock-shoe-shoe man.

Habits. We are all creatures of habit.

These rituals provide consistency and comfort. They help us deal with a complex world.

Customers are creatures of habit. Companies are creatures of habit too. And old habits die hard. Problem is, if some habits aren’t broken – the results can be devastating.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about habits. What changes them, where things might be going, opportunities, and threats. And the potential actions we may want to consider as a result.

There’s something life changing going on. I can’t quite put my finger on it and I need to – we all need to.

There’s a world disturbance upon us. It’s the sum of many factors.

Here are just a few:

- 24 x 7 communication and the Internet

- World trade and shifts in global economic power

- An unfocused effort towards alternative energy

- Heightened fears from all sorts of stuff; too many to name

- An aging population in the industrialized world and a younger one in the Third World

Did you know that of the 6.7 billion people on the earth, China and India account for over 37%. The U.S. has 4.5%.

Think these things aren’t about marketing? Your business? Your family?

It all plays a part. Old habits and expectations are going to change. It takes a world disturbance. A series of cataclysmic events. That’s what forces them to change.

And you know what? It can be a good thing. A very good thing.

As long as you recognize where it’s all going.

When I need to get a handle on something, I usually think it through out loud. I hope you don’t mind, but I’m gonna think out loud right here.

Feel free to add your thoughts.

Posted by: Steve Banis