Adapt to the Changes
Life Brings, Or Be Replaced
Hi, Did you know humans have a natural resistance to change?That tendency can often protect you from harm. But sometimes it can be deadly.
EVG Research Team here. We understand the reluctance to change (we're human too).
But as entrepreneurs we've learned to embrace change. To adapt. Switch gears when necessary. Keep things fresh.
All great individual investors and companies possess these traits.
One of our goals with The Elevation Group is to help our members develop the traits and habits that will propel them to personal success.
If you'd like a solid foundation for your financial success and growth, be sure to check out how EVG's Wealth Blueprint can help you. Click here for details
We also believe our blueprint is a "living document." Which means that we'll be making changes along the way as economic conditions and the wealth cycle changes.
Because...
If You Are Unwilling to Change,
Bad Things Can Happen
Take Kodak, for instance.
You probably heard that Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year.
It's a shame too.
Kodak was one of the first "social media" companies ... long before that term was a buzz phrase.
Kodak connected people. They brought us closer together.
They were "Facebook" long before Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook founder) was born.
You could capture a moment in your life, save it for later use, and send it to a friend.
And Kodak made it easy enough for a kid to use (check out the ad for the Brownie camera above).
As founder George Eastman once said ...
You push the button, we do the rest.
Seeing a company like Kodak fail is sad.
Especially for the generation that captured their growing years on Kodak film with Instamatic cameras...
...and sang along with Paul Simon's 1973 hit, "Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away..."
The Culture of Complacency
How could a giant in the industry like Kodak fail?
How do you go from dominating 90% of the film market and 85% of camera sales in America (like it did in the 1970's and 80's) to bankrupt in 2012?
Well, that's what happens when you refuse to change. When you're too stubborn to let go of the old before you embrace the new.
You see, until the 1990s, analysts consistently rated Kodak as one of the world's five most valuable brands.
Kodak had built that reputation on the back of their film business and their consumer-level cameras.
And here's the crazy thing. Kodak knew (before almost anyone else) that film-based cameras would soon be obsolete.
An internal memo passed around the Kodak front offices in 1979 predicted that digital imaging would fully replace traditional film by the year 2010! Wow!
So why didn't they change?
Well, they tried. But a culture of the "complacent monopolist" permeated the company.
In other words, they were making money and that was good enough for much of the upper management.
Why change when you're making money?
As late as 1999, the company was still making $16 billion in revenues and $2.5 billion in annual profits.
The demand for film was still strong. Digital photography had not yet reached the masses.
Kodak executives didn't want to abandon their flagship film business at the expense of their digital research. They resisted the change.
And it cost them. Big time.
During the first decade of the new millennium, Kodak watched helplessly as digital photography swiftly replaced film, and as smartphones rapidly took the place of cameras.
Without a solid foot in the door on either of those industries, Kodak also watched their profits plummet ... and their net worth drop off a cliff.
In 2009, Kodak stopped manufacturing their last remaining film product, Kodachrome64.
At the time they filed for bankruptcy in early 2012, they were upside down by nearly $2 billion.
How You Can Learn
From Kodak's Mistake
Companies and individuals are different ... but there are important take-aways from Kodak's demise that can help you.
First, recognize that change is already here. The old (comfortable) ways are gone.
Think about it...
The global economy is still on life support.
Unemployment is sky-high.
Reliance on government subsidy and handouts is at epidemic levels.
Inflation is sneakily sucking the sails out of your net worth ... and it's getting worse by the day.
So, to keep from just scraping by... or postponing retirement ... or facing a jobless future...
YOU need to change with the times.
It might mean learning a new (more valuable) skill.
It might mean moving to a different part of the country or the world.
It might mean starting a business.
It might mean learning a new way of investing (and ditching the old, outdated ways).
Whatever it means to you ... recognize that change isn't always easy.
It will require you to move outside of your comfort zone (exactly what Kodak failed to do).
But it can be the only way to survive in changing times.
And the times... oh, they are a changing.
The Elevation Group equips you for the changes going on in our world and in the economy.
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