“if it ain’t broke…”

I have gotten into so much trouble with this philosophy: ‘if it ain’t broke, break it’.

I think that we have put so much premium on “experience” and on “what’s working”.  The truth is, there are so many changes in the world these days – particularly in the field of communications, technology, and marketing that the old models no longer simply work.

And if they do work, they do so at a very high premium – either in terms of costs or in terms of risks.

A lot of people still think that it’s business as usual – that it’s all about getting as many revenues as possible, getting as many consumers as possible. 

My take is simple: It’s not business as usual.

And it applies to markets where technology is very well-developed – such as the UK, Australia, and Singapore – and to markets where technology is yet to be seen and felt.

True: these developed countries are at an advantage with regard to net penetration and communications, but emerging countries are not too far behind:  There are, in these emerging markets, a group of people who find a way to get around the limitations that the infrastructures their governments and supposed innovative telecommunications companies impose.

Take the proliferation of internet cafes in Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Cantho (in the South) and Danang (in Central) in Vietnam.  A lot of marketeers that these cafes are only for backpackers – people who wanted to get in touch with loved ones back home.  But when one entered these cafes in 2003, you’d see university students reading English articles, writing emails, chatting away, and essentially connecting with the rest of the world.  PC ownership?  Very low.  But internet cafe visits?  An entrenched part of the lives of the youth and young adults.

Or the high incidence of in-office surfing in countries such as the Philippines in the early 2000s.  Because there was low in-home PC ownership, well… use the office internet regardless of how slow it was.  Stay late at night to do one’s email on yahoo.com, mailexcite.com, or hotmail.com.  When IT admins started to ‘crack the code’, they tried to ban certain sites and services.  What did these Filipino “yuppies” do?  Internet cafes in malls.  These days, we’re seeing a resurgence of mobile phone and handheld internet access.

I can’t emphasize it enough:  Things have changed.

And things will continue to change.

The rules of the past may no longer apply.  And should they still apply, they will need to adapt to the current scenarios that we now face – and current environs that we now are in.

The only way, I believe, that we can keep up is if we look at these rules and try to push them to limits – and even break them if necessary.

Sure: It is scary.  No one knows what the future holds.  And that’s what rules are supposed to do.  But sometimes, it is our own fear that stops us from trying, from experimenting.

So go on.  Break the rules.  Or at least, have the balls to test them to their limits.