“In a world of constant change, the fundamentals are more important than ever.” – Jim Collins
When Jim Collins published his seminal book, From Good to Great, in July 2001, he wrote about the fundamentals being important to the sustainability and long-term success of companies during times of change.
Compared to today the world was a nervous zit-prone teenager, not an outraged, pock-marked adult.
Consider this:
- YouTube wasn’t a registered domain.
- The twin Towers had not yet fallen.
- The war in Iraq had not occurred.
- Isis had not been born.
- The iPhone was a twinkle in Steve Jobs eye.
- Google was only 3 years old.
- Twitter was not a verb.
Based on the recent election of Trump, it seems there is a large segment of the U.S. population who wants to return to the 1950’s, their anxiety steeped in nostalgia for a by-gone world, and fuelled by bitterness built on that which has been trampled by time.
In a world now rampant with change (and thus, anxiety) the fundamentals are more important than ever, not only in business, but in life: honesty, trust, excellence, integrity, open discourse.
We can’t turn back the clock. But we can get back to basics and build better, longer-lasting businesses.
If you never learn how to add, multiplication is out of reach.
The fundamentals matter.
And nothing of values lasts without them.