Survival of the Fittest

Survival of the Fittest I received an email from the new President of Ohio Wesleyan University, Rock Jones. In it, he praised the institution, its current students, alumni and professors. He also spoke about the future challenges of the school in the following excerpt: I recently received a nugget of wisdom from Paul Schimmel62. Paul suggested that evolution is not about survival of the fittest;it is about survival of the most adaptable.Rock Jones, President Ohio Wesleyan University Adaptable, flexible, malleable, pliantlook at the people you know and the companies that are successful. They exude this quality, right? Seth Godinwrote in his blog about the failure of the NYTimes.He states that the paper has some of the best writersand the greatest reputation but failed to adapt to the changing needsof todaysreadership. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, so is being on the outside looking in.Take some time and assess yourself. Look at your past successes and past failures. What dothey have in common? Losethe qualities you dont need or want any longer.Strenghten the ones that will take youinto the future.But first youmust have some insight on what the future will bring, soread about the bestand the brightest in your field, talk to them if possible.Ask how technology is impacting what you do? What does the typical customerdemographic look like and what are their needs/wants. Take an educated guess and prepare yourself for the next generation of work. It wontbethe same as weve known it.Adapt to survive.