Business gurus, consultants, academics and even some CEOs have all the same message, ”Take quick, drastic and revolutionary actions or die.” The problem with new ideas or management techniques is not that they are wrong, only the way they are brought into companies. A revolutionary company will have an attitude of ” out with the old and in with the new.” The evolutionary company look for new ideas that are appropriate for them. They reject neither the old nor the new, but keep the best of both. Adapt – not adopt – new ideas!

There have been dramatic changes brought by technology in the twentieth century. The future will change neither as much nor as fast as the technologists predict. Scientists and technologists can make reasonable predictions on the physical directions or properties of specific technologies. They do however a poor job in predicting how technology will affect our lives and work.
Computer buffs have long predicted, e.g. the paperless office or the death of newspapers. In fact, by increasing the appetite for information the use of paper and newspapers has even increased.

The rapid pace of technological change is an illusion fostered by consultants who want technology to drive business. However business priorities should drive technology, not the other way around.

To turn your company into an evolutionary organisation, start focusing on the essentials of business - the customer and the processes that serve the customers.
Focusing on customers means getting to know them so that you understand how to meet their wants and needs. There exist a few essential elements in this process:

• Through marketing, identify your customers and their needs and wants. Define the products and services that will delight your customers.
• Through promotion you let customers know that you have solutions to their needs and wants.
• Selling is to satisfy their personal or organisational needs through your products and services.
• Effective After-sales service and care will create lifetime customers.

Keep your company moving on in the right direction – to delight your customers. You need a clear sense of purpose and a set of values to guide your company there. For that you need common sense.