Every so often on the blog (copying Seth Godin) I like to put a stamp down to see what it will look like moving forwards.
And so, today I was thinking about what tomorrow will look like in five years' time.
I made a couple of notes about this as to where we are here and where I am in my head and maybe it will just give you a prompt or a thought to look or to think about what's happening down the road instead of what's just in front of our nose.
And so, six points here that you might want to consider, to chat about or to look at or to help inform you with your decisions going on from here.
These relate to dentistry, mostly because my working life relates to dentistry but there are factors outside of dentistry associated with this as well.
Do you think the NHS will be better funded or worse funded by the government five years from now?
I suspect the answer is pretty clear for all of us because as we look down the line of 2, 3, 4 years of austerity is unlikely that NHS funding in total will get better and therefore it's very unlikely that NHS funding for dentistry will get better. If it's not getting better, by definition it's getting worse.
Are you ready?
Do you think that the discussions around climate change and the environment will get less or more frequent in the next five years?
Again, I think the answer is quite clear.
And so, from that point of view and with your business in mind, it's probably best that you start to think about how to green-wash your business or, better still, actually look at the contribution of your business to the environment and to the climate.
Again, it does not look like society is becoming more inclusive, and this will really inform where you are and where you sit from a work, business, ethics, personal and character point of view.
It's hard to look at any of the rest of these points without thinking that society is becoming more fractured and deciding whether you want to be part of the problem of part of the solution?
Tech is the most disruptive thing in our lives, and in our work.
For the wealthiest, the tech will get better and better, for the poorer it will suck more and more people into an addictive habit.
It's probably best now to adopt the situation of ‘never get high on your own supply’ like most of the guys that work in social media do.
There will be more platforms to express yourself and more platforms to take your time and attention away.
Thinking about your strategy of how to deal with this both personally and from a business point of view now will probably serve you massively well five years from now.
This ties in with number three and the divisions in society but for anyone who works in healthcare it’s going to get really, really hard to say no to people who can't afford your services as the NHS decreases and collapses.
Trying to be part of a solution there, instead of being part of the problem, will occupy many people's minds.
It's difficult to deal with one of these problems, let alone dealing with all of these problems, particularly if you're a small independent provider.
Collaboration and the growth of collaboration in dentistry (think academy trusts and schools) might well be the solution to help ease the load, share the pain and share ideas.
Just a few thoughts about what might come up next.
Answers on a postcard here, please in the comments.
Blog Post Number - 3282