As kids, we couldn’t wait to grow. Bigger. Taller. Faster. Older. Up.

Change was a natural phenomenon we embraced and chased. Pushing the envelope wasn’t something we contemplated with caution, but something we did, with often reckless but always joyful abandon.

We dashed headlong into the unknown. We stumbled. We fell. We got up. We dashed again.

It’s easy to lose that sense of adventure as you age, but unwise to succumb. Today, with technology moving über-rapidly and the global economy becoming increasingly interconnected, organizations cannot afford to stand still. As Satchel Paige said, “Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you.” That something might be your competitor.

If you want your business to grow, you need to grow. Don’t merely think, but leap outside the box. When Amazon.com was in its infancy, a local shop owner astutely incorporated the word Amazon into his business name, reasoning that he could profit from online searches. He did.

IBM has been a master of reinvention, which is why it’s still here 100 years after it began as a maker of machines that read data stored on punch cards. A continuing pioneer of change, it recently built the Watson computer that beat human contestants on “Jeopardy. “ IBM still adheres to its founder’s motto: Think.

That’s a good business model for all organizations. We need to embrace change, discover ways to evolve, adapt to current realities, anticipate the future and keep on going and growing.

Centurion IBM proves it: Life at any age can be an adventure!


Life is a continuing adventure for the Palmers as they approach 100.