From the book: “According to Yale professor Richard Foster, in the 1920’s the average life span of an S&P 500 company was 67 years. Not anymore. Today the average life span of a twenty-first-century S&P 500 company is only 15 years. According to research done at the Babson School of Business, more than 40% of todays top companies will no longer exist. By 2020 more than ¾ of the S&P 500 will be companies that we have not heard of yet”

Do you think traditional linear-thinking companies can survive in this new paradigm, or will they need to evolve in order to exist? Can you think of a company or industry in which linear-thinking is still the best business model?

Lets get a robost group discussion this week on the strengths and weaknesses of "traditional" business models (i.e. linear thinking) verses some examples of companies who fit the non-linear model. Many of you will graduate this year and as you start to look for companies or industries in which you want to work, you should be considering the approach and model they are using and how it aligns to your own goals and objectives.