November 17, 2016
While in Japan last week, I had the opportunity to ride the bullet train three times – and, even waited to go back to Tokyo from Mt. Fuji to see it whiz past since you cannot see it in action in Tokyo as a terminal station – simply amazing and FAST! The bullet train travels at over 300 kph. They always arrive on-time and they are neat, organized, efficient and safe. They account for potential earthquakes etc.
We can certainly learn something from this engineering and service feat. And if that wasn’t enough, I learned that they have been testing a bullet train that goes 600 kph. It has been in the works for 10 years with several left to go. Innovation at its best.
One tip to implement this week:
Are you thinking about what might be needed 10 years out? Certainly if you ask your customers, they might not be thinking about trains that go at 600 kph. Although I surprisingly couldn’t tell I was traveling at 300 kph, I wouldn’t think I needed to double it. Yet I’m sure I’d be happy to get from point A to point B in half the time in today’s Amazon-impacted marketplace. Either way, breakthrough technology will have many uses.
In thinking about how to apply the bullet train concept this week, take a few hours out of your schedule for thinking 10+ years down-the-line. What do you think your customers might want? Bring in your top people. Assemble experts. Get ahead of the curve in thinking about the future and how your products, people, processes and culture will need to change.