Long Term Success or Survival?

Stories like the above one, even if not as dramatic, are not uncommon. Consider the lists Fortune 500, Forbes 100, Global 1000, S&P 500 and so on, they collect the largest and, supposedly, the best managed companies in the world. If we take a closer look, however, practically all of those large organizations underperform the market in the long term, a rather counter-intuitive fact.

Survival of the Fittest!

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” (Charles Darwin)

I think most sciences can learn a lot from nature, and management is no exception. As we move into a fast-paced, information based economy the ability to react promptly and decidedly to environmental changes will become much more important than financial resources, economies of scale or any other “industrial age” competitive advantages.