INDUSTRIAL DESIGN: the market is speeding up, not slowing down

A lot of companies still act like they can coast once they find a decent niche. That is a fantasy. The market is moving faster, not getting more forgiving.

Innosight projects average S&P 500 tenure at roughly 15 to 20 years this decade, down from 30 to 35 years in the late 1970s. McKinsey found that about a quarter of companies did not grow at all from 2010 to 2019, and only one in eight managed more than 10% annual revenue growth.

That is not a case for protecting the status quo. It is a case for pushing harder on adaptation before the pressure gets obvious.

If your market is accelerating, your innovation pipeline cannot sit in neutral. Coasting is how you get passed by someone who is still building.