NOTHING exists which is permanent.
Your current success is the result of your past efforts and good fortune, and how well you have responded to changing circumstances along the way by seizing new opportunities and avoiding threats.
An interesting example of a company that failed to respond to changing times is General Motors. GM was the world’s largest car maker from 1931 to 2008. In 2009, GM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The gas-guzzling Hummer SUV, a brand symbolic of GM’s failure to change with the times and deliver on fuel-efficient vehicles, was one of several brands that GM was forced to shut down.
Lasting success and satisfaction would appear to be possible only if we can constantly adapt to changing circumstances.
OZYMANDIAS
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
~ Percy Bysshe Shelley
2 replies on “Change is constant”
love it tom!!!
i’ve had similar thoughts to this…to extended further on this topic…
that our past efforts are mearly worthless if we are un able to adapt…such that we must be focused on the present, and in that case the future…i.e. one should never rest on their loyals
You’re absolutely correct, Tom. Businesses that fail to evolve will eventually die. To that end, there’s also an article (that I can’t recall) which did a case study on two car manufacturing companies. Company A was well prepared and had stock on hand to meet any sudden increase in demand while Company B didn’t. Guess which one ended up declaring bankruptcy?
Surprisingly, Company A. Because Company B trusted that they had the capability to meet any sudden increase in demand, they were able to leave their warehouses relatively empty. As a result, when consumer demands changed, Company B was able to adapt right alongside them. Company A, however, couldn’t do the same because of all the dead weight they were carrying in the form of old stock. This just goes to show what a big role self confidence plays when it comes to success.
On a separate note, I’m glad to see you write about the role change plays in the business sector. I coincidentally wrote about the same but on an individual level: http://bit.ly/fobNPe.