One of the hottest topics in the business world is change. The pace of change is getting faster and faster so how do you keep up with the changes you don’t even know are coming in your industry?

Recently I watched a nail biting Rugby World Cup final between New Zealand and Australia. A non-sport subscriber, my partner’s enthusiasm had made me upgrade my Sky pay tv subscription to add sport to our line-up.

And then I read an interesting statistic – that 1 out of 5 Sky subscribers will cancel their subscription all together after the World Cup. Of the people that cancel, half of them will re-subscribe to on-demand options such as Netflix, Neon and Lightbox.

And it got me thinking. As I sat there watching my $130 per month Sky subscription I became aware of the huge number of ads I had to watch. Usually I record everything I watch to avoid the ads but should I have to? If Sky was a customer centred business would they have adopted on-demand viewing earlier (they’re only just rolling it out now)? Should they have foreseen this change earlier, instead of waiting for on-demand viewing to arrive before taking action?

In each of our industries, change is coming. We know that 46% of jobs will be gone in 40 years. Technology is changing everything and we don’t even know what could be our biggest threat. Here are just a few examples:

1. YouTube’s dominance is being threatened by Facebook’s videos. Facebook is expected to become the biggest video platform on the planet
2. Driverless cars becoming mainstream and their impact on every associated industry – insurance, panel beaters, paint manufacturers, public transport, taxis – the list goes on
3. The weakening of online businesses and the move in profitability towards retailers with online and physical stores (Apple is the perfect example of this, Macy’s the next)

What changes do you think are coming in your industry? Are you constantly discussing them or are you burying your head in the sand? With great change comes great opportunity but those who fail to adapt will die (just look at video stores to see an example of this).

Here are my tips for staying ahead of the pack:

1. Add “Change” as a Board agenda item. Change and technology discussions need to be happening where the strategy is being created
2. Integrate Change as part of your strategic planning process, every quarter, with your team. A great way to do this is integrate the conversation with Porters 5 Forces and PEST analysis
3. Have blue sky sessions once every 6 months with your best and brightest and make sure you include a cross-generational mix. Identify the changes they can see and any actions your company needs to take to mitigate them
4. Follow people who are mentoring the businesses at the forefront of change. Scott Galloway is one of my favourite in this area

It’s easier to have the luxury of wanting to change, not needing to. Start changing now and, as Nike said, Just Do It!