09/09/2024
Remember Kodak? Back in 1997, Kodak was an industry giant, employing around 160,000 people and accounting for 85% of global photography. Kodak cameras were synonymous with capturing life's moments. Yet, with the rise of mobile phone cameras, Kodak's dominance quickly eroded. Unable to adapt to the rapid technological changes, Kodak declared bankruptcy, and thousands of employees lost their jobs. It’s a sobering reminder that even the strongest companies can fall if they fail to innovate.
Kodak isn't the only example. Several iconic companies once enjoyed similar success but couldn't keep pace with change:
- **HMT (watches)**
- **Bajaj (scooters)**
- **Dyanora (televisions)**
- **Murphy (radios)**
- **Nokia (mobile phones)**
- **Rajdoot (motorbikes)**
- **Ambassador (cars)**
These companies didn’t fail because of poor quality. They fell behind because they couldn’t evolve with time. The world is constantly changing, and those who refuse to change will find themselves left behind.
Now, standing at the crossroads of the present, it's hard to imagine how much the world will transform over the next decade. But one thing is certain: 70%-90% of the jobs we know today may disappear in the next 10 years. We are entering the era of the **Fourth Industrial Revolution**, where the digital world increasingly dominates.
Take today's leading companies as examples:
- **Uber**: The world's largest taxi company, yet Uber doesn’t own a single car.
- **Airbnb**: The largest hospitality provider globally, but it doesn’t own any hotels.
Similarly, companies like Paytm, Ola, and Oyo are thriving, not because of physical assets but because of software innovation.
In the U.S., even the legal profession is being disrupted. IBM Watson, a legal software, can perform legal tasks faster and more accurately than many new lawyers. It is projected that 90% of Americans may find themselves jobless in the next decade, with only the top 10%—the experts—being able to adapt and thrive.
The healthcare sector is also witnessing a revolution. Watson software has been proven to diagnose cancer and other diseases with four times more accuracy than human doctors. By 2030, artificial intelligence will surpass human intelligence in many fields, fundamentally reshaping the job market.
In the transportation sector, 90% of the cars on the road today will disappear in the next 20 years, replaced by electric or hybrid vehicles. The demand for oil will plummet, causing a ripple effect across oil-producing countries. Driverless cars will become the norm, reducing accidents by 99% and making car insurance redundant. Traffic police and parking attendants will become obsolete as the need for their services diminishes.
Think about the evolution we’ve already seen. Just 10 years ago, STD booths were on every street corner. Then mobile phones arrived, and those booths became recharge shops. Now, with the rise of online mobile recharges, even those shops are being phased out, replaced by e-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart that directly supply phones and accessories.
The nature of money is changing too. We’ve moved from cash to plastic money—credit and debit cards. And now, we're entering the age of mobile wallets, where digital transactions are made with a single tap on Paytm or similar apps.
The lesson is clear: those who resist change are removed by the tide of time. We must continuously adapt to stay relevant.
Keep evolving, keep innovating, and keep pushing forward with the times.
