Everyone has heard about the term legacy thinking and even if you don’t hear and know it. I will tell you about it and how it affects companies or individuals.
In general, legacy describes the term as what you receive from your forefathers, ancestors to the current generation in any type of form.
WHAT’S IN IT
What Does Legacy Thinking Mean?
It means passing of thinking, strategies, ideas, products, services, also it means properties, wills from one generation to another.
It’s thinking held from our 20th century into the new century that is the 21st century.
It has also meaning in terms of technology that any old technology, software, coding systems, which is operational but not up to the mark with the current latest updates.
So then it will lack the features to run the present, which can also become a disadvantage to an organization or person.
Generally getting frequently new ideas is difficult to get so almost all ideas that are unique are either copied, adapted, or slightly modified to the older ones.
Each idea that comes up is either an adapted, borrowed, or modified version of some older ideas. The process of identifying that past of ideas, observing it, and learning from it is also legacy thinking.
Legacy in Technology
According to the current scenario, the technology, and the digital market is growing at their peaks and the latest updates keep on coming. This leads to a greater increase in the rate of legacy thinking in technology.
So these quick changes in technology for an organization or a person will lead to either a great opportunity for success or also will result in drawbacks in their growth.
Thus one should react more quickly that is to be more agile according to the market and environment.
This strong approach of being more agile will help in reaching the top heights of your industry.
So by becoming a reactionary to become quicker to react are important to accept new technology. Or to understand our competitors’ strategies or products that are growing well in the market.
20The way we look at the change in technology and the way of managing it is also important and also to become more anticipatory.
Have you thought about holding back to becoming more agile? That is our thinking, our mindset, we have to break it and change ourselves accordingly.
We are also so busy with our daily routines and lifestyles that we are unable to change the upcoming changing challenges in tech. So less we will be agile and will result in more disruption in the future.
So legacy thinking is not bad but there should be a change in the perspective according to the situation, a mix of old and new ways.
For Example
In the upcoming decade, there will be more auto-driving cars in the market at a cheaper rate compared to present
But not all passengers will prefer full auto-driving mode in all situations because no one will like accidents.
So in such cases semi-auto driven mode will come and become self-driven whenever it is needed.
Thus forces of technology in the upcoming year will make a habit of becoming anticipatory and not to become reactionary
So in the upcoming year to act on the changes, analyze them will be sufficient.
The trending things in technology should be noticed by a company or organization which helps in building their success.
Also, they should create opportunities and then should make a plan on it and implement it to remain updated with the change in the tech and digital market.
Why Legacy Thinking is so critical for Entrepreneurs and investors
In South Africa in a group of 12 elderly Japanese businessmen in the mid-70s came to this very small town and spoke to a group of farmers. About buying land to build a manufacturing plant.
At that time South Africa was a very inaccessible part of the world from most of the international community.
These groups of businessmen in the mid-70s came here against the odds to come and look at the opportunity of building the largest manufacturing plant for automobiles in Africa.
The company was TOYOTA and unlike most entrepreneurs and pioneers who came to land. A land that they were not familiar with one, two, or five-year plan.
These businessmen in the mid-70s came with a 50-year plan to establish a small manufacturing plant for automobiles.
Fast-forwarding to 55 years Toyota now is one of the largest automobile manufacturers. Not just in South Africa but in the whole world
Unbeknownst to most people, these automobile companies contribute one of the highest percentages to the GDP of South Africa.
So the important thing to understand here is how important it is to think from a legacy perspective.
But these gentlemen would never live to see the future of their company, not their kids also. But generations far beyond them creating a legacy.
Another Example
In 1984 a small town outside of Pretoria a young kid who just turned 17. Was about to leave high school was asked by his principal what he would like to do post-schooling.
He said with all due respect I will like to do 3 things when I grew up, Firstly I would like to change the way the world looks at the bank, as banks don’t treat people with respect and integrity and
I would like to create a system where people can use banking but not necks
He then says that he was unhappy with the amount of our dependence on fossil fuel. That the earth is depleting its resources at an exponential rate.
The third thing he said is that he wants to use the earth atmosphere and what lies beyond it to travel above and beyond.
So that boy was ELON MUSK and he created PAYPAL, TESLA, and SpaceX.
Paypal solves payment across the world without banks; Tesla builds cars running on electricity and SpaceX to travel beyond our planet.
That is how you create a legacy by thinking above and beyond just this year, this quarter or the next five years.
So what I am telling you that an entrepreneur-thinking that what we do could affect way beyond just what more stakeholders or shareholders or partners expect of us and those are truly significant people and not successful people.
So I want to tell everyone who is reading this that if you are an entrepreneur or you work in a corporate where you are a consultant or whatever.
You do just think of the impact of your above and beyond just the immediate benefits because there are lots of successful people on this planet and very few significant people.
So that you do for yourself are gone as you have gone from this plane but the things you do for others remain your legacy after you have gone.
So, all who build disruptive innovative products or tech just think of what the impact that would be in the long term.
Role in a Retirement Plan and How to Change it
In terms of retirement planning, most people thought that I have a pension that should last the rest of my life. I don’t have to worry about money for the rest of my life and
So we all can see what’s happening with certain pensions. I am not predicting gloom and doom. But it’s not a good idea to hang on to your legacy thinking without checking it out periodically.
To see if it’s still true so what you shouldn’t do what you do were some examples.
Now suppose today it’s your 50th birthday so it’s a perfect time to sit down and write down. I am not talking about your values here but the major beliefs which you learned in your past and bring forward. One of the things you can do for yourself is to write those down and check them out.
Now see if they are still true because if today is your 50th birthday and you want to retire in your 60s.
Then that’s what you learn to do. You are going to live to be the 90s. Now think that can you save 40 years worth of money in those 10 to 15 years ?.
So it’s about real, the world has disruption is here and if you are 50 it’s time to pay attention and it’s almost as unique.
So ultimately we have to sit down and write down what we think and check that. And the test is called learn to unlearn and relearn and everyone should apply it at this period.
Conclusion
Finally, in all these things, my main motto is to tell you that you should identify the way of doing things. Also the planning and action plans of your organization under which it operates.
So then it’s beneficial to start updating and change from today to drop this legacy thinking. It helps you or the organization a lot.
Also, you can read our blog on Understanding Creativity