2017 Business Insights

The new year is fast approaching and the start of any year is an opportunity for you to reflect on what worked the year prior, what didn’t, what trends you need to be aware of and therefore what will you need to do differently in the coming 12 months to achieve your targets both personally and for the business.

Mindshop, one of PKF Kennedy’s strategic partners, works with hundreds of advisors and business leaders globally and as a result is a great position to better understand the emerging trends, key issues, new opportunities, support and training required to improve their performance over the year ahead.

Recent research on advisory trends and observations of what is working and what is not,  provides a great road-map to help guide business owners towards success in 2017. So let’s review what the trends are …

What will shape your vision for 2017

	1. Change Readiness: Most businesses have had ‘ground hog’ years due to their adoption of a trial and error approach to management. Typically they miss the real reasons they only succeed 30% of the time. PKF Kennedy can help you to get change ready.
	2. Simplicity – Focus: Businesses are struggling to keep up with the pace of change and are searching for simplicity in the advice they are being given to provide them focus and clarity on the two or three things they need to work on over the year ahead.
	3. Digital Disruption: Accelerated development of disruptive technologies and business models will continue to commoditise many traditional services that can be sourced in a more cost effective and time efficient manner.
	4. Outsourced everything: Since the GFC most businesses have spent the years focusing on profit. As they push for growth they are turning to more freelancers and outsourced ‘advisors’ to fill gaps in their business.
	5. Micro-learning: No longer do business people want to sit through two day training courses. They are time poor and have short attention spans. Viewing short 10 minute videos or completing tailored 3-4 module online training courses as required to fix their issues is the future. PKF Kennedy has available On-line business training courses and On-line coaching facilities.
	6. Lean start-up thinking: 10 years ago it used to be annual planning days that were used to re-set strategies for the year. Then it progressed to quarterly workshops and now with the fast pace of business there is a need to learn and adapt more quickly (weekly / monthly). PKF Kennedy is committed to helping clients move quicker through their learning cycle.

This post by Andrew Russo first appeared on the PKF website and is republished here with full permission