Let’s look at successful and failed organisations and decide if they were open or fixed.
1. Google:
Google is well-known for its innovative and constantly evolving culture, where employees are encouraged to experiment, take risks, and challenge the status quo. This has helped Google stay ahead of the curve in the tech industry and remain one of the most innovative and successful companies in the world.
2. Zappos:
Zappos, the online retailer, is famous for its unique corporate culture, which emphasizes employee autonomy, creativity, and experimentation. This has helped Zappos become a leader in the e-commerce industry and an example of a company that is open to change and constantly evolving.
3. 3M:
3M is a multi-national conglomerate known for its culture of innovation and experimentation. The company encourages employees to take risks and pursue new ideas, and it has a long history of successfully commercialising new products and technologies.
4. Amazon:
Amazon is a highly innovative and fast-moving company, known for its agility and ability to quickly adapt to changing market trends and customer needs. The company encourages experimentation and risk-taking, and its culture of continuous improvement has helped it become one of the largest and most successful companies in the world.
5. IDEO:
IDEO is a design and innovation consultancy that is well-known for its collaborative and open culture. The company encourages cross-functional teams to work together to solve complex problems, and it values experimentation and continuous learning.
These are just a few examples of organisations that are known for being open to change. There are many other organisations, both large and small, that embody a culture of openness, innovation, and continuous improvement.
Now let’s look at a few examples of organisations that have failed because they were not open to change:
1. Kodak:
Kodak was a leader in the photography industry for many years, but it failed to embrace the digital revolution and was slow to adopt new technologies. The company was unable to adapt to the changing market and eventually filed for bankruptcy.
2. Blockbuster:
Blockbuster was a leading video rental chain, but it was slow to adopt online streaming and video-on-demand services. The company failed to adapt to the changing market and eventually went bankrupt.
3. Sears:
Sears was once a dominant player in the retail industry, but it failed to keep pace with changing market trends and customer preferences. The company was unable to adapt to the rise of e-commerce and online shopping, and it eventually filed for bankruptcy.
4. Blackberry:
Blackberry was once a leading player in the smartphone market, but it failed to adapt to the changing market and customer preferences. The company was slow to adopt touchscreens and other new technologies, and it eventually lost market share to competitors like Apple and Samsung.
These are just a few examples of organisations that have failed because they were not open to change.
In today's rapidly changing business environment, organisations that are unable or unwilling to adapt to change are at risk of becoming obsolete or losing market share to more innovative and agile competitors.
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