‘Are you ready for change?’ conference speaker asks

By Rob Vogt, Local Press Writer

Everything is about to change. Are you ready for it?

That was the message brought by Doug Griffiths, the guest speaker at the inaugural business conference hosted by the Claresholm and District Chamber of Commerce, on Friday night, Sept. 21 at the Claresholm Community Centre.

Griffiths is the co-author of “13 Ways to Kill Your Community”, a former MLA and minister of municipal affairs, and currently the president of 13 Ways, Inc.

“Everything in our lives is about to change,” he said.

Whether it is cell phones, computers, or vehicles, they are all evolving quickly.

More than just change, the nature of change is changing.

Griffiths cited several examples such as Uber, the largest tax service in the world, but owns no vehicles.

Airbnb is the largest hotel but owns no real estate, and Netflix is the largest purveyor of movies but owns no theatres.

The rate of changing is also changing.

For 30,000 years mankind were hunters and gatherers, then agriculture came along and there was little change for 5,000 years.

The industrial revolution occurred 300 years ago, and the technological revolution started 30 years ago.

Technology has changed rapidly, and the speed of change is increasing.

Griffiths warned about the danger of leapfrogging, where an individual or community can be passed by if they stand still or do nothing.

He referred to the example of classic cars versus electric, self-driving cars.

The technology in an autonomous vehicle cost about $150,000 per vehicle in 2012. Soon that cost will drop to $250 per vehicle.

Griffiths cited estimates that in 10 years, 35 per cent of the vehicles on the road now won’t be then, and in 15 years, 85 per cent of the vehicles on the road now won’t be.

“Because of the way we adapt technology,” Griffiths said. “We adapt technology very, very quickly.”

He focused in on the autonomous vehicle.

In the future it will be electric, have a high-performance storage battery, solar-powered windows, no driver, and no need to park.

The vehicle will be parked 95 per cent of the time, reducing the need for gas, a garage, and insurance.

There will be disruption to communities, Griffiths said.

What will happen to the need for a garage and driveway, parking and roads, or gas stations.

There will also be disruptions to municipalities, such as the need for ring roads and over passes, buses and subways.

“We don’t ask ourselves what is going to be relevant to us in the future,” Griffiths said.

He then turned his attention to the future, and what is “coming soon to a community near you.”

The future of health care will include online diagnostic tools; tools like the tricorder on Star Trek that can easily take a variety of medical readings at once; a cancer pen that can sense as little as three cancer cells; re-engineering cells for health, such as growing skin; and automated anesthesiology.

The future of education will see online education growth; and increased use of virtual reality.

The future of downtowns will see less need for retail because everything is moving online. Attracting commodity businesses will likely not last.

Griffiths said people are now looking for experiences, and talking to people.

“Millennials want to spend time with people,” he said.

That means more walkability, fewer cars, socializing opportunities, a good quality of life, and housing downtown.

Millennials want to belong to a community, Griffiths said.

The future of food will see more urban agriculture such as gardens on rooftops.

The future of energy will see decentralization. That means clear solar panels; an increased role of wind, but storage capacity must increase for wind-generated energy; new energy efficiencies; and off-the-grid communities.

The future of manufacturing will see localized manufacturing done by technology such as 3-D printers.

The future of transportation will see autonomous vehicles; the use of drones; and infrastructure changes.

The future of governance will change. People seek information that reinforces what they already believe. Social media can spread truth and lies at split-second speed. It is also the age of immediacy where people want everything right now.

The future of values is changing too.

“If you’re going to build the future, you have to understand the values that are coming in,” Griffiths said.

He said what is coming in the future is not all good or all bad.

However, he cautioned everyone who ignores change does so at their own peril. People and communities who do, risk being leapfrogged, and losing their youth and capacity to grow and survive.

He cited several anti-change companies that have died or been severely reduced such as Blockbuster Video; RCA; Kodak; Sears; Polaroid; and Myspace.

Griffiths also noted that anti-change communities die too, hampered by a variety of individuals who resist change.

Change is coming, he concluded. Are you ready?

(Cutline for Doug Griffiths photo)

Change – Doug Griffiths, president of 13 Ways Inc., was the keynote speaker at a business conference at the Claresholm Community Centre on Friday night, Sept. 21. Photo by Rob Vogt