Learn…

Back when I was born (1959) the life expectancy of the Fortune 500 companies was 75 years, kinda in alingment with the life span of the average American. Yup, when I was a baby boy, the biggest companies lived a long time and felt like institutions you simply knew would always be there. Today, you and I are living longer; our biggest and best companies, not so much. The life expectancy, today, of a Fortune 500 firm is less than 15 years and declining. The list from 2011 only had 67 companies from my childhood still alive. Eighty seven percent are gone…

Whatever system you’re in, remember this as you work your five year and one year plan. You, most likely, are assuming too much when it comes to predicting your revenues and expenses. You, most likely, are not paying enough attention to the small, insignificant, leading indicators and way too much on the lagging ones like this past month or quarter. The most common cause of death, btw, was some kinda debt problem that became unserviceable when an unexpected hiccup happened. Don’t repeat history, friend. Study your system and know your nums – especially those that are leading indicators of trouble. Pay attention. Or, like my oblivous client today, you won’t know what you’re missing until it hits hard on your bottom line.

Study, learn, and apply. Study, learn, and apply. Your systems long term survival just may depend on it…