Welcome to the Innovation Economy

Over the past 15 years, 52% of the Fortune 500 has vanished.

Let that sink in for a minute. More than half of the trusted rocks of our economy have either gone out of business, been acquired and absorbed by a larger corporation, or seen their business shrink considerably and drop off the list.

We are in an Innovation Economy. Where change is the only constant.

And will be for many years to come.

The Innovation Economy is where companies like Sprint, Dell, US Steel, Hess Petroleum, Eastman Kodak, The New York Times, KKR, Barnes & Noble, Caesars’ Entertainment, Visteon Automotive, Blockbuster Entertainment and many others are replaced by high growth upstarts like PayPal, Salesforce, HubSpot, Google, Facebook, Amazon, Tesla and Netflix -all built on platforms of innovation, technology, design, agility and network effects.

This rate of change is only expected to accelerate. In 1958, companies in the S&P 500 were there for an average of 61 years. By 1980 - down to 25 years. By 2011 - down to 18 years.

And the forecast is that 75% of today’s S&P 500 will be replaced by 2027. (source: Innosight)

What does this all mean?

It means that are in an age where change is now the only constant in business and career.

Where today’s leader becomes tomorrow’s loser. Where new ideas, technologies and mavericks make even more incredible new things possible. Everyday.

Where Kardashians are more trusted than the President Of The United States (not that that’s all that difficult right now…)

Unfortunately, people, organizations and teams - even the highest performing ones - are generally resistant to change. Its confusing. Disorienting. Upsetting.

Shit’s crazy, my friends. And there’s no manual.

That’s the purpose of this blog.

My mission is to help people reach the next level in business and career - faster.

I’ve spent nearly 30 years deep inside the Innovation Economy - working at the intersection of design, venture capital, innovation, strategy, brand, product, marketing and executive recruiting with visionary leaders at the world’s great companies - and the startups on the way to becoming tomorrow’s most exciting businesses.

As an employee, I’ve worked at tech startups acquired by the world’s largest companies, once-great global brands desperately trying to reinvent themselves in the face of disruption, expansion stage companies growing at triple-digit annual rates and turnarounds fighting bankruptcy while struggling to make payroll and keep the lights on. And as a consultant, I’ve worked with over 350 different business of all sizes and shapes across almost every industry.

Its been a great adventure. A wild ride full of extreme highs and horrible lows. Great success and crushing failure.

And hopefully its not even halfway over for me yet.

I hope to help you by sharing lessons I’ve learned, and introducing you to the innovative people, ideas and brands that inspire me.

In the words of Bruce Lee, “Forget about circumstances. I create opportunities.”