The life expectancy of a firm in the S&P 500 in 1961 was around 61 years. Today it’s less than 18 years.
Only 12.2% of the Fortune 500 companies in 1955 were still on the list in 2014. This means 88% of those companies have merged, gone bankrupt or simply fallen off the list.
What are the successful companies doing that enables them to survive and where do others fall?
Our world is constantly changing. Companies can only deal with a certain amount of change, unless they build a climate that thrives on disorder. Doing so allows them to weather whatever storms and challenges they encounter. Those who don’t are left in the dust.
We talk about change as if it has a beginning, middle and end. And we hope the end is close.
But change isn’t like this; it’s continuous. If we can adopt the right mindset, where we’re constantly learning and accepting what’s new, we can relish change and use it to our advantage.
Recognizing the need to treat change as an adaptive challenge is a start, and helps organizations think the right way about keeping up with the trials of the uncertain and volatile world we live in. But how does this translate into real world results?
Research shows that to evolve, an organization must adopt a learning climate. Josh Bersin asked 40,000 business leaders to rate their organizations on their specific learning practices.
These were then mapped to business outcomes. The findings are clear: organizations with strong learning cultures also experience strong business outcomes.
In such cultures, people are curious and attentive. They spot where things could be better, try out improvements, learn and adapt to change.
Bersin (2010). High Impact Learning Culture.
It’s up to the business to create a climate which promotes learning. There are three ways this can be done:
Build a company which thrives on disorder and it’ll stand strong whatever the weather.
see full case studyThese changes are well received, thoughtful, impactful and absolutely necessary for our future. I feel better about GSK, and my future in it, than I have in three years.
Build a company which thrives on disorder and it’ll stand strong whatever the weather.
see full case studyI’ve been training for 25 years, but I can still say that I learned more in my four days’ certification with Mind Gym than I learned at any other facilitation training session I’ve ever been to.
Build a company which thrives on disorder and it’ll stand strong whatever the weather.
see full case studyAs well as the learning transfer data which is demonstrating the value created, one of the things I am most struck by is how this program is reinvigorating the pride in being a great manager.
Build a company which thrives on disorder and it’ll stand strong whatever the weather.
see full case studyThe sharp and engaging style of Mind Gym Workouts has been a key part of the success of Aspire.