Are You a Turtle?

One of the most ancient creatures on our planet is the

turtle. They have survived changing environmental conditions

for millions of years while many other species have gone

extinct. Turtles can be very safe and secure when threatened

by retracting their head, tail, and legs into their shell to

ride out many dangers of life in the wild. But, if they

stayed safe in their shell, they would eventually starve to

death and would not be able to create subsequent

generations. For turtles to flourish, they have to accept

the risk of living and give up the safety of their shell,

stick out their necks, and move forward… or perish. It’s the

same for businesses.

Businesses are just like turtles. They only move forward

when they accept the risk of existing in a competitive

marketplace and then change to meet the needs and desires of

the future. It may be uncomfortable, it may be terrifying,

but it is necessary.

Successful businesses manage change, for the most part, very

carefully. They are continually taking the pulse of their

customers and their targeted prospects. They continually ask

the question, “What are my customers and prospects wanting

and needing? What will they want and need in the future? How

can we change in order to have the right products and

services for them and still continually strengthen our

brand, our reputation, and the qualities we are known for?

They are balancing the safety of the shell against the risk

of moving forward.

In large companies there are workgroups or teams of turtles

that are sticking out their necks by working continually on

answering those questions, developing new products and

services to offer in the future. Few small companies have

the luxury of being able to devote these resources to the

process of change so when the subject of “the future” comes

up, they retreat into their shells and deal with the issues

of “today” where they feel safe and comfortable, not

realizing that they are facing the very real possibility of

becoming extinct as the world passes them by. So stick out

your neck but do it carefully.