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If there's one clear lesson to be learned from the historic events of 2020, it's that change happens.
Despite how well we prepare or how much we resist, our world, our perspec ves, our personal
situa ons, our industries and markets are all fluid and evolving. And while evolu on rarely comes in
the seismic shi of a global pandemic and worldwide economic crisis, it does always come. To move
forward and grow, we must adapt to change.
Fortunately, this doesn't have to be bad news. In fact, as marke ng leaders, our new, unprecedented
reality provides a unique and promising opportunity to pause, reevaluate, pivot, and ul mately drive
posi ve growth forward. We are at a cri cal intersec on where history meets the road to do be er.
In this guide, I'll share the history that brought us to a disconnected, well-inten oned, but
dysfunc onal place and how we can learn from that history to fuel growth now.
Looking Back to Move Forward: How Did We Get Here and What Can History Teach Us?
The historical view
What Can History
Teach Us About
Future Growth?
As we try to rebound from world crisis and look
ahead toward future growth, it is important to
first pause and look back. What have historically
been the financial, cultural, and environmental
constraints on business? How have innova ons
in technology and new ways of thinking affected
how businesses grow? How have changes in
government regula ons, global compe on and
emerging economic theory impacted corporate
structure and fueled or restrained growth?
As far back as the mid- to late-1800s, corporate
structures emerged as clear vehicles for financial
gain. At that me, robber barons, notably Henry
Ford, Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt,
and John D. Rockefeller, seized the opportuni es
of the moment to take full advantage of
unregulated markets and an unprotected
workforce and public. While successful, their
With change comes opportunity for
those who seize it. But as markets,
world events, and public percep ons
evolve, growth consistently requires
agility, adapta on, and new thinking.
