Adapting to Survive Long-term business survival depends upon | Human Nature

Adapting to Survive

Long-term business survival depends upon the company constantly reinventing and adapting itself in order to remain ahead of the competition. In dynamic markets, which are growing and evolving all the time, the idea on which the company was founded may become irrelevant over time, and rivals will almost certainly copy it. The ecosystem in which a business operates is rarely, if ever, static. Corporations exist in these ecosystems as living organisms that must adapt to survive.

Moreover, just as the enterprise must adapt, so too must the owner. Most businesses start small, and remain small. Few entrepreneurs are willing or know how to take the second step of employing people who are neither family nor previously known friends. This is the start of a move from entrepreneur to leader, and it requires a new set of skills, as new demands are placed on the business founders. Where once energy, ideas, and passion were enough, evolving businesses require the development of formal systems, procedures, and processes.

In short, they require management. Founders must develop delegation, communication, and coordination skills, or they must employ people who have them. As a business grows, the demands on it change. The Greiner Curve is a graphic that shows how the initial stages of growth rely on individual initiative, and that evolving ad-hoc business practice into sustainable and successful growth can only be achieved by experienced people and rigorous systems. Professional management, as opposed to entrepreneurial spirit, becomes essential to business evolution.

Some leaders, such as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, for example, are able to make the transition from entrepreneurial founder to corporate leader. Many others, however, struggle to make the necessary changes; some try and fail, while others decide to remain small. Finding a balance, determining how fast to grow is, therefore, a balance of the founder’s skills and desires. But in order to survive, the idea must be unique enough to define its own niche, and the individual or group behind it must demonstrate entrepreneurial spirit. They need the flexibility to adapt the idea—and themselves— as business and market pressures demand. Luck will play a part, but it is the balance of these factors that determines whether a small start-up becomes a giant. START SMALL, THINK BIG.

#WealthHack

♡ ㅤ   ⎙ㅤ  ⌲
ˡᶦᵏᵉ ˢᵃᵛᵉ ˢʰᵃʳᵉ ᶜᵒᵐᵐᵉⁿᵗ

Join now
@Laws_of_Human_Nature