Well is it?

“When the rate of change outside exceeds the rate of change inside, the end is in sight.” -Jack Welch

“In the 1970s, managers expanded the frame in which they evaluate costs to include a product’s lifetime. In the 1980’s, they expander their view of quality to include the customer. Now it’s time to expand our concept of efficiency to include the costs of adaptation to changing business conditions – and the risks of failing to adapt.” -From The Big Moo

“Giving up the illusion that you can predict the future is a very liberating moment. All you can do is give yourself the capacity to respond…the creation of that capacity is the purpose of strategy.” -Lord John Browne

Being ready to adapt is essential in business today. Think of all of the major food companies that produced low carb foods for the Atkins diet craze. Many of those companies were only able to get their low carb products into stores just as the Atkins fad started to fade away.

Where was the strategy and foresight there? Why didn’t they see the Atkin’s coming sooner? Why didn’t they see that Atkin’s was just a fad anyway?

The reason is that the food companies cannot see into the future. That’s life.

The real question is why they didn’t get their products out faster? Why couldn’t they adapt to any fad and then recover back to business as usual once it was over?

Where does your company stand when it comes to change? Can you roll with the punches and capitalize on them? Does your company fear change or embrace it?

"Adaptation isn’t just organizational strategy – it’s a business strategy." -From The Big Moo

And the final quote of the night-

"It’s all about thriving in markets that are smarter and faster than you are. It’s all about being utterly fucked if you don’t know what I am talking about." -Hugh McLeod

Over and out.