The Business Life Cycle
fit adj. suited, adapted, or acceptable for a given circumstance or purpose.
- 42. Everything has a life cycle. The earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old, and there was no life on it for the first 2 billion years. Man has been around for about 50,000 of those 4.5 billion years – that’s about 800 generations. The first 650 generations were spent as cave dwellers, and nearly all the manufactured products and technology that we use today were produced by the last 5-7 generations.
- 43. Survival of the fittest. It’s been a Darwinian Process – a struggle for existence. Darwin's Natural Selection suggests results from the gradual accumulation of individual modifications. It is survival of the fittest. We must be fit and willing to adapt.
- 44. About Darwinism. 'It’s true that Darwin couldn’t prove his theory, since, as he put it, the great span of evolutionary time was simply unrecoverable. But that was okay. The circumstantial evidence - in the form of fossils, species, distributions, plant and animal structure, embryology - was good. And, except to the religious fundamentalists of the day, the basic setup felt right, just as the theory that the earth was round had felt right. What was upsetting were evolution’s vibes: that nature had gone from being a sun-kissed harmony to being a tag-team wrestling match; that there was no such thing as virtue, just more and more adaptation; and that there were greater rewards for being fit than for being good or even for being right.' – Jones & Wilson
45. The 6 Phases of the Business Life Cycle. Businesses also have a life cycle and ours is no exception. There are six phases in the life cycle of a business: the first three are dependent upon the efforts of the individual leader, the next two are dependent upon the core ideology, and the final phase is when the leader and the core ideology give way to expedience, status, and greed. I would like to see us stay in the Expansion Phase forever. Every phase calls for significant adaptations.
- The Dreamer Phase - The founder of the business sets out on a journey, chasing a dream. Few are convinced, and those who come along do so on faith alone.
- The Rebel Phase - The battle has been joined. The business lives on the edge of success or failure every day. There is no respite, the leader knows that success or failure rest in his ability and efforts alone. The team is tight and loyal, there is no room for anything less than total commitment.
- The Captain Phase - Initial success creates a more intrepid attitude. The team grows into a work force and internal conflict begins. The business works at becoming more productive and efficient. Competition and creativity are at their height. The leader must begin to delegate. Things are changing overnight. The business remains fluid and adaptive.
- The Expansion Phase - The business is a financial success and is recognized as a force in its industry. Competition is giving way to internal growing pains as the main concern. Expansion in its core business and development of an efficient infrastructure provide the foundation for further development. Professional management is being developed and gaining power. Profits provide for creativity and new ideas create new opportunities.
- The Diversification Phase - The core business is seen as a profit center. Current operations must continue to cut costs and run more efficiently. The leader is now a corporate manager and creativity gives way to 'numbers' and return on investment. Bigger profits and higher margins are sought in new businesses through diversification. Professional managers have now become more important than producers. A corporate culture [with its inherent caste system] is fully developed. Image begins to dominate substance. Hubris is indeed the tragic flaw.
- The Acquisition Phase - The core business is being sucked dry and is limping along. In a final effort to stave off extinction the business acquires other businesses. The future is mortgaged by over burdening the business with debt for acquisition and status. A well-entrenched management is a variety of power cells. Creativity is a thing of the past. The leader has made his money and has left the business to the stockholders and their internecine Board of Directors.
- 46. Courage. A man who says he never had a chance is the man who never took one.
