Change is one of those words that makes people go crazy. Change can be tattooed in Chinese letters on ankles during party nights in Pattaya, change can turn billion dollar businesses on their bottoms and change can turn an African-American Honolulu-born child called “Barry” into the most powerful man in the world.
Change can also be a total shit for the ones that don’t want it. If for the last couple of years you’ve been working in any kind of business that’s facing change (and chances are you have) you’ve also met the “show me the money” person. The traditional journalist sneezing at the website saying “show me the money and I’ll believe you”, the traditional retailer looking at e-commerce saying “show me the money and I’ll believe you” and all of their friends saying “show me the money and I’ll believe you” to anyone pointing at the fact that the business they’re in is not the business it once was.
The thing is, in almost all cases the money is still there, but unfortunately it may not enter the same way it once did and in many cases it’s not as big as it used to be (but neither are the costs and neither should they be). Even more unfortunate is the fact that the “show me the money” person won’t adapt to what’s happening around him. Even with the walls falling down he’ll work on as if everything is business as usual. He wants his company to see cold hard proof before dipping a toe into something new or different.
The “show me the money” person can scream and shout to see the money first. It will come, but it won’t be big enough to cover anyone saying a thing like that.