Evolution, not preservation

I love this article in Sunday's NY Times Week in Review section, "How Industries Survive Change. If They Do."

In it, we get a list of characteristics needed to survive the kind of turmoil the global economy seems to be facing. 

There’s no clear route to cheating industrial death. Those companies that have survived technological challenges have in common some combination of perseverance, creativity, versatility and luck. Their precise strategies vary. Some made sweeping changes, and abandoned their original products entirely; others were able to endure by changing little but their marketing.

Do you have perseverance? Are you creative? Are you versatile? How's your luck? Three out of 4 of those items are within your control. 

The article goes on to give example after example of companies and industries that adapted to a changing environment. Did you know that Toyota used to make textile looms and Nokia started as a paper mill in Finland? "These companies survived by keeping their ears to the ground. New customer needs emerged, and smart corporations positioned themselves to meet them."

Are you listening for emerging customer needs? If so, what do you hear? We're working on an article about how creative solopreneurs are doing adapting to the market. If you are, post your comment here and we may contact you for an interview. 

Comments

[Susan Sharman]

One of the advantages to being a solopreneuer is that you only have to answer to yourself and adjustments can happen quickly if one is flexible and nimble. I myself have had to dive into the online networking world (kicking and screaming I might add) as a way to bring my skills up to speed for the wine industry, one of my target markets. Major changes in shipping regulations have opened up new markets for wineries. The industry is responding in creative ways to reach their online consumer with interactive websites, online shopping experiences, wine clubs, blogs, twitter! So not only does it help my own marketing efforts but in the long run I hope that it will help position me as the go to person for my target market.

[Dani Nordin]

I'm certainly finding that as I shift my focus from entrepreneurs (who are holding tight to their money as the economy looms) to specialty food and organics (where it's tougher to get in, but business is still booming), it's getting much easier to find interesting and profitable work. Also, I'm noticing that since I started attacking this market, I've found a great network of collaborators in exactly the areas where I need some help, which makes it easier for me to compete with "the big boys." If anything, this recent economic mess has created a turning point for my business, and everything is looking up because of it.

[Denise Lee Yohn]

ilise -- i saw this article too and was intrigued as well -- i found challenging the juxtaposition of two points in the article:

1. “You have to be willing to walk away from the things that have made you great,” says Scott D. Anthony, president of Innosight

2. “If you look at the history of firms that have tried to diversify their businesses, you’ll see it’s virtually an impossible thing to do,” says David A. Hounshell, a historian at Carnegie Mellon University

which is it?! be open to change or stick to your guns? i think the over-riding sentiment (of the article and your post, at least) is that darwinism is alive and well in business, so we must be willing to rethink WHAT it is we do and evolve as necessary.

but i believe the cautionary note from hounshell speaks to staying true to HOW and WHY we do what we do -- our values and our ultimate value proposition (what i consider our brand) should remain constant.