PARADIGMS have been shifting even before Copernicus. When the Ptolemaic view of the sun revolving around the earth was replaced by the Copernican view (for which Galileo was persecuted in the 17th century) designating that central role to the sun, this was a major shift in the paradigm on the dominance of earthlings. Weren’t they the center of the universe? Maybe not.
“Shifting paradigms” are a staple of strategy sessions for besieged (or even healthy) companies in a changing environment. The process refers to a dramatic redefinition of an industry which usually repositions the skills needed and the restructuring that a company needs to undergo to continue being relevant and profitable. Sometimes it leads to closure.
The word paradigm comes from Latin, paradigma — to compare, to show alongside something else. A paradigm then is a metaphor. So, shifting a paradigm means changing the metaphor. The image of moving tectonic plates is implied when old assumptions, concepts, values, and practices are shaken up and overturned.
Paradigms keep shifting in many sectors. Think of the distribution of books through a handheld device like the Kindle or an iPad that can hold over a thousand books that are shelved in the cloud.
What about money transfers which used a traditional “padala” — asking OFW friends or relatives to bring physical cash home to hand over to their “near and dear” residing in the Philippines. This was superseded by corporate entities with semi-banking functions using a branch network for recipients of cash from abroad or even locally to withdraw remittances. This model too was overtaken by online banking which uses mobile phones and other devices to transfer cash instantly.
Lately, however, it seems consultants have not been too keen on paradigm shifts, maybe because the word itself seems pretentious with its silent “g.” Does anybody even use the word “paradigm” in ordinary conversation? (Have you had your paradigm checked?) Anyway, paradigms seem paired with no other modifier than “shifting” as they don’t tilt, slide, or shake hands.
Even executives trying to impress their boss shy away from a paradigm with its shifting ways. Is the customer base shifting its paradigm from owning to renting, as in homes or transport in the sharing economy? Are office paradigms moving to hoteling (use as needed) rather than one-to-one permanent occupancy (always available)? This type of speech will only evoke a sneer from corporate rivals — what did he have for lunch, fish head soup?
The recent pandemic has shifted all sorts of paradigms like dine-in in favor of food delivery.
Consultants now like the “business model” to capture how companies make or lose money. These two words (business, model) have an open-minded arrangement allowing marriage with other nouns with no compunctions. There is not the automatic union seen between a paradigm and its shift.
A business model is not pretentious. It merely describes a structure of how goods and services are offered for profits. The ditching of the paradigm has not automatically led to a business model that is comprehensible. Still, the new phrase seems friendlier and more flexible.
When old industries are wiped out by technology (like slide rules by calculators or the pager by the cell phone SMS) some guru is sure to analyze failure as the result of massive change. Before he shifts paradigms, the analyst is likely to look at new business models.
Will people stop traveling for business meetings abroad with the advent of teleconferencing? This prediction of a shift was made 25 years ago even before the advent of working from home. This is another shift that the pandemic has accelerated. Virtual meetings have not completely gone away even with the lifting of the alert level.
Still, the “new normal” — another shift in phraseology of change — seems to favor face-to-face (FTF) meetings again, without even the face mask.
Paradigms may shift. Business models may be revised. But it still takes imagination to understand what to do with change. The only thing that really shifts seems to be who is making more money now than before. Let’s not count the shady characters here.
Changing business models is more frequent than one presumes. Even the language has morphed. Those forced to exit a company now declare that their skills set do not fit the company’s ethos…which is just a new way of saying “I failed.”
Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda
