The world moves fast. One day, you’re the hot new thing; the next, you’re yesterday’s news. It’s a harsh reality, but it’s the truth. As the father of modern management, Peter Drucker, stated, “The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence itself, but to act with yesterday’s logic.”
A McKinsey study found that the average lifespan of a company on the S&P 500 has decreased from 61 years in 1958 to just 18 years today. The reason? Failure to innovate.
Take Blockbuster. Once the king of video rentals, Netflix’s streaming revolution decimated it. Or Kodak, the photography giant that failed to embrace the digital age. The graveyard of business is littered with the bones of those who didn’t adapt.
But innovation isn’t just about technology. It’s about mindset. As Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, said, “If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the inside, the end is near.”
Seek fresh perspectives. Listen to the whispers of change. Embrace the discomfort of transformation. As Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, famously said, “If you’re not stubborn, you’ll give up on experiments too soon. And if you’re not flexible, you’ll pound your head against the wall and won’t see a different solution to a problem you’re trying to solve.”
In a world where change is the only constant, relevance is the currency of success. Too often, organizations talk of innovation, yet they cannot absolutely and proudly share any occurrence of true innovation. And what of individuals? What has changed from just six months ago? What’s new? What has improved?
Don’t let your organization become a relic. Innovate or evaporate. The same applies to individuals, not just organizations.
