Those best adapted to particular conditions will succeed in the long run. This idea was invented by Herbert Spencer in Principles of Biology (University Press of the Pacific, 2002) to describe Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection of living species.

By the early 1900s, this insight was being transferred to other areas and continues to be valid today as we witness events in the current global economic crises. It’s interesting that 2009 is the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s treatise on the Origin of Species (Oxford University Press, 2008), which reflects our ability to adapt to the challenges of change. We see that it applies to how living beings adapt to change, as well as to organizations, whose ability to survive depends on the ability to adapt to the changing economic and social environment. Organizations that are able to adapt to change, generate alternative avenues of revenue, discover new markets, and learn from other industries, make the leap to survival. They look for ways to remodel their business and come out stronger. As the rest of this article indicates, commercial and manufacturing companies can also position themselves for natural selection by their customers.

 …