Is it an equalizer or thorn in your side?

In the past if a person could speak English they'd have income-earning advantages above those who didn't.  Knowing English was an entry key to opportunity. 

Now imagine a world where language is no longer a barrier.  What would happen if the geniuses of technology could invent a device to translate languages?  Think of how this would change the way you do business. 

Think fast, because the device is already in progress. 

Previously closed markets will be open to you for buying and selling.  New forms of communication and logistics will usurp the current methods. Unknown competitors will enter your markets, and you'll be smart to find ways to ally with them.  In just a few hypothetical scenarios, you can see how you'll have to be back on your toes yet again.    

Who can you thank for the translating device? Author and renowned inventor, Ray Kurzweil.  (He's the author of The Age of Spiritual Machines, inventor of the Kurzweil piano, OCR technology, and advancements in AI among other technologies.) 

Let's take a closer look at how business will shift by using India as a brief example.   

As you probably know, India is a call-center hot bed. Call centers from behemoth organizations to small companies have, over the past decade, moved seat after seat to India , while chasing the employee shortage and economics of price. Today, one might consider this position to be a threat.

The truth is India will face a new wave of challenges as low cost jobs, even to India , will be replaced by technology like Ray Kurzweil's language translator. 

At a recent conference where David was a keynote, Ray showed a video clip of a prototype voice translator; he speaks into it in one language and the computer speaks back in another.  German, French and Spanish were featured in the clip.

What was evident was that within 5 years, someone could get on a phone (or video line) with someone in another country and have a conversation without either side knowing the other person's language. 

This is an incredible leveler.

What this would do to a country like India is take away their competitive advantage. What it will do for another country is give them a competitive advantage or equalizer they didn't previously have. 

The universal language in India is English, not Indian.  There are so many dialects of Indian that even Indians don't understand Indians.  (You can laugh.) They can speak English better than any other culture, besides England and the US .  (When call-center employees study for and apply to work at call centers, they often select accents, such as Midwest , Southern drawl, and Northeast.)

Now add the voice translator.  When English is no longer a factor, the tiny city in Russia can now fulfill the same function that the Indians do.  Even the accent will be digitally modified to meet the needs of the caller so they can "fit in" with the crowd with a click of a mouse.

In an instant, opportunities open up for everyone in all walks of life and locations.  There are things you can do to identify and capitalize on these and other opportunities that come your way. 

Here's a 4-step start:

Look several steps ahead. 

 Like playing checkers or chess, the champion doesn't just react to the board as it is, he anticipates several multi-step possibilities ahead of several plays.  Things happen faster than you think. So strategy and tactics have to be in place and flexible enough to keep you on top regardless of how the scenario plays out. 

Your new news is someone else's old news. 

Attendees of conferences who hear our material often comment that the content is "so cool" and that they haven't heard of before.  Unfortunately for them, often the "new" idea, product, or news has been out for two years already.  You have to reach out beyond your own trade journals and the daily paper to find out what could affect your business next. 

Technology continues to be the leveraging tool of the future. 

Automobiles that travel 60-120 mph give us the ability to do a multitude of things that were previously closed to people in the past.  Your role in management is to look at not only new technologies, but at technologies in other industries to see how you can cross pollinate and leverage your organization's assets. 

Shift the way you think about communication. 

Like the translating device shows us, future challenges won't involve HOW you communicate.  More importantly, you'll have to consider WHAT you're communicating to people of different cultures, people with faster learning curves, and who may be "hungrier" for success than you realize. Get a passport and start learning in new ways. 

Consider the new method of communication in action.  If we can set up phone systems, we can create a Star Trek-type environment using universal voice translators resting on our ears: similar to a Plantronics device you use with your phone. (The real future is a small implant or a tiny earpiece you can't see.)

Barriers are broken when you can enter a room where five languages are being spoken and can understand each one, because software translates the conversation to your preferred language.

The translator will elevate disadvantaged segments of societies. Imagine a 15-year-old immigrant who does poorly in school, because he doesn't know English.  With the elimination of this barrier, the student can focus on learning math or science AS he learns the language instead of delaying progress UNTIL he learns it.  He's able to achieve grades high enough to earn entry to college.

From Dunkin Donuts to MIT…on scholarship. (One quarter of new high-tech start ups were from US immigrant entrepreneurs according to Rachel Konrad of the Associated Press.)

Higher education leads to a career where the student can now make a real contribution to society and the tax base. On a worldwide scale, advantages and opportunities will spread.

The world will be a different place.

David and Lorrie Goldsmith are managing partners of MetaMatrix Consulting Group, LLC. Their firm offers consulting and speaking services internationally including clients from Fortune 200 to international associations. David also has named by Successful Meetings Magazine as one of the "26 Hottest Speakers in the Industry." A best selling author characterized David in this manner,"David Goldsmith is unique in that he can see a 30,000 feet view of business and then delivers the hand-to-hand tools for combat. Few people can do what he does." You can reach them at (315) 682-3157 or email to david@davidgoldsmith.com

www.davidgoldsmith.com