And the Future...

Helmut Berg, CEO RSB Deutschland and Chair of EuRA Marketing Committee

Today is the future of yesterday.

People are always keen and curious about the future. So are we at EuRA. What will the future bring for me as member, for my entity and – last but not least – for EuRA as an association?

“Thinking the future” is a very controversial matter. Some see it as witch craft and close to the activities of obscure magicians or esoteric gurus. Some laugh about it and don’t take it serious at all. There are reasons for these very different views on a subject that all fascinates us – let’s be honest. On the one side there are the horoscopes in the yellow press – read by millions of people every day. This we can forget. I talk about the serious institutes and their principals who do solid thinking on the basis of analysis of the past. They deserve that we listen to them more often.

Well, as a matter of fact, we all are futurists. Every morning we get up and make plans for the day we act as a futurist. Every time when we invest in a new IT system we act as a futurist. And what do you think, a marriage is?

“It is very difficult to think the future – but it is dangerous not to try”.

As a matter of fact the developments of the future are always already known – but they are not widespread enough. Already in the year 1918 the first wireless telephone had been used by the German railway company in Berlin. The first visual telephone was used in 1936 between Berlin and Leipzig. And the first navigation system for a car was installed in a Honda in the year 1981.

For the relocation industry we can assume that the strong future trends are already known or visible – but not yet to the extend to make them an important element of the industry.

It is now on us to take a close look at what is happening around us. We have to look at the major disciplines and facets of life: politics, economy, sociology, demography, technical development, medical development etc. etc – both from the international and the local angle of view. And we have to change our own view. We have to question our believes, our standpoints and our “philosophies”. Who says that always the others are wrong and only we are right – and vice versa for the more cautious and self-critical natures among us?

What are the options? One alternative is to let the future happen and to react to it. Unfortunately this has the effect of being behind. And your competitor may be faster. The other alternative is trying to anticipate the future and to “manage” it. How to do that?

The management of the future

Management of a company is not only leading people, planning resources and controlling profitability. Management of a company is foremost the thinking about the future and make plans accordingly. This is the only task that a principal of a company cannot delegate to others. The challenge is, to see more of the future than the competition. Future is 5% innovation and 95% diffusion. Why was is that only in 1990 almost no one used a trolley as luggage. Most people carried a suitcase. And this although the wheel was invented at the beginning of civilization. The idea took its time – and then it exploded.

Management of the future is not to create a prognosis. It is more to build a bridge between those who come up with a prognosis and the strategic management for a company – or your own life.

And the future for Relocation and EuRA?

Future cannot be thought without knowing about the past. The industry as well as EuRA have developed tremendously. Those who start now as newcomers to the industry experience a different start as those who started 20 or 10 years ago. And they experience a more difficult and challenging environment. The market and its potential has grown; so has competition. Clients are more demanding. Margins are melting. One of the key questions will be whether a provider wants to deliver superior quality or a mass product.

We cannot tell you how you may become successful, we do not know what your future will be. However, we can try to give you ideas of future trends and developments. You might think for yourself whether this is something you may want to use. In this Newsletter we will have small articles which should inspire you to think – the future.

Helmut Berg