You don’t have time to keep up on industry trends. You’re an entrepreneur, marketing manager, or HR executive or do you have a small corner shop at one of the markets scattered in and around Nigeria, with a schedule jam-packed with the day-to-day activities of your career — chances are that you would have very little time to keep in touch with the latest happenings in your industry.
Believe me, I feel your pain. After having run one of the most successful IT companies in Lagos, I constantly felt that I was out of the loop on the overall trends in the IT industry because my vision was clouded by minute details. For this reason, I created a crash course for myself on the Information industry. Each month, I make sure I’m addressing one section of my crash course and making time to educate myself on trends within my field, this crash course can be adapted and used in any industry you find yourself.
Here’s my crash course for information technology, but it can be replicated across any industry by simply plugging in the relevant people, places, and things.
Attend Conferences
Yes, attending conferences requires an investment of time and money, but they’re worth it. Even if you just choose one a year, it’s important for you to get out of your bubble and see what others in your industry are doing by meeting them face-to-face. Here’s my “hit list” for this year:
Read Industry Publications
You might not have hours reserved for reading whitepapers, but you should have a few minutes to dedicate to reading articles each day. Use an aggregator, like Zite or Flipboard, to bring content to you easily, or choose a favorite publication or two to keep yourself informed.
Listen to Podcasts and Webinars
I’m sure a few of you just rolled your eyes and said something along the lines of “Oh, if I only had time to read.” For you, I have another option: listen to podcasts. You can listen to them in your car on the way to work or while you’re working or in a bus or taxi.
Find podcasts in your industry that offer real value, not just promotional material about their creators’ services or clients. You’ll be amazed at how much they bring you out of your business and get you thinking at a higher level.
Follow Industry Experts
You know those people who seem to have all the answers (that you are secretly kind of jealous of)? Instead of being jealous, learn from them. I follow many IT experts on Twitter and instead of envying their following, I learn from what they say and converse with them.
At the base of all this is Time Management, “Time management” is the basis of communication, productivity. Set aside an hour daily for personal development.
This may seem like information overload, but you don’t need to attend a conference, read industry pubs, listen to podcasts, and follow industry experts’ opinions every day. Make your own crash course, figure out which learning style fits you best, and challenge yourself to get outside of your business every once in a while to see what’s happening around you. I promise it will be worth it.