Roll with punches or die

Paul Ormerod is the former head of the Economic Assessment Unit at The Economist Newspaper Group. Inspired by recent economic twists and kinks, he set out to examine both the causes and consequences of marketplace fluctuations and ended up debunking many of the economic theories that are rooted in the 19th century.

In his new book, Ormerod claims that instead of the world economy ticking in a predictable fashion like a Swiss watch, governments and corporations behave much like living organisms. Put more succinctly, either they evolve or they die.

The London-based economist, author of the groundbreaking book “Butterfly Economics,” is convinced that in order to understand success, we must first understand the pervasive existence of failure. He points out that failure is everywhere, across place, and across different aspects of life.

He points out that 99 percent of all biological species that have ever existed are now extinct, although failure in this context is measured over millions of years. On a shorter scale, more than 10 percent of all companies in America disappear annually. Large and small, from corporate giants to the tiniest one-person business, they fail because each and every one failed to roll with the punches and adapt to the changing marketplace.

Ormerod makes it clear that survival is possible only when individuals, companies and governments adapt in response to the actual behavior and requirements of their customers and constituents.

“Why Most Things Fail” is a truly fascinating book, and especially interesting in light of this autumn’s national elections.

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