Failure To Adapt Quotes

Our biggest failure is our failure to see patterns.

...all cynicism masks a failure to cope.

Governance can dig itself into a huge hole and not even know it's in there.

How is it we could have a system where schools could remain lousy for 50 years and yet you do exactly the same thing this year that they did 50 years ago when it didn't work then, and no one feels any pressure to change?

Self-deception ultimately explains Japan's plight. The Japanese have never accepted that change is in their interest - and not merely a response to U.S. criticism.

Even if they're not reaching out to us, we're going to reach out to them anyway and involve them in a meaningful way. Because if we don't, we will fail to learn the lesson of a generation before us, that reached out for us and never let us go.

Over time, a successful company will acquire much in the way of resources and momentum, and these things often insulate it from reality once it has stopped being successful.

You see a lot of bands and a lot of artists making that mistake: They become successful for doing something, and then they change everything. They change the people; they change the approach. And then, all of a sudden, almost the essence of what you do is gone.

Businessmen go down with their businesses because they like the old way so well they cannot change.

Most educators would continue to lecture on navigation while the ship is going down.

When you hang on a little too long, you disappoint your fans, and deep, deep down inside, you're disappointing yourself, and that's the part that hurts you the most.

If you like the book, you'll hate the movie.

We're lousy at recognizing when our normal coping mechanisms aren't working. Our response is usually to do it five times more, instead of thinking, maybe it's time to try something new.

Lots of companies don't succeed over time. What do they fundamentally do wrong? They usually miss the future.

Early success is a terrible teacher. You're essentially being rewarded for a lack of preparation, so when you find yourself in a situation where you must prepare, you can't do it. You don't know how.

The principal reason, invariably, most "successful" giant companies rather quickly become also-rans, or just amorphous blobs on the competitive landscape, is their failure to re-tool in anything like a fundamental way. In fact, the worse things get, typically, the more they dig in their heels and defend yesterday's turf.

I've witnessed thousands of superior athletes try to becomes hitters and fail at it.

It distresses me, this failure to keep pace with the leaders of thought, as they pass into oblivion.