Business Survival Key Findings
- Nearly 50% of S&P 500 companies will be replaced in the next decade due to a failure to adapt.
- The average life span of a company listed on the S&P 500 was 61 years in 1958 and had shrunk to less than 18 years.
- Rishad Tobaccowala, global strategist and former chief strategist at Publicis Groupe, outlines five leadership moves that can help companies adapt and remain competitive.
Half of today’s industry leaders won’t survive the next decade.
That's according to a 2019 McKinsey report, which found nearly 50% of S&P 500 companies are projected to be replaced due to their failure to adapt to fast-changing markets and emerging technologies.
This trend hasn’t slowed, either. In 2023, the average lifespan of a company on the S&P 500 has dropped from 61 years in 1958 to under 18, according to McKinsey.
This goes to show: Legacy thinking isn’t just outdated — it’s dangerous.
In other words: Unaware or too-comfortable companies tend to stick with strategies that no longer reflect how the market operates — and that can tank them. The data shows this mindset is not just common — it’s costing companies their place in the market.
In episode No. 87 of the DesignRush Podcast, Rishad Tobaccowala, global strategist and former chief strategist at Publicis Groupe, discusses the dangers of not adapting fast enough.
To guide leaders, he lays out five specific leadership shifts that organizations need to adopt to stay competitive — with a clear warning: if you’re not evolving, you’re falling behind.
Listen to the full episode now on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube.
Chapter Summary
- Biggest Barriers to Transformation & Alignment (02:01)
- What Microsoft & Domino’s Got Right (08:01)
- Upskilling to Stay Relevant in the Age of AI (12:01)
- Spotting Disruption & Staying Ahead of Trends (17:01)
- Inside Adobe’s Playbook for Innovation (22:01)
5 Moves to Future-Proof Your Company
1. Stop Protecting the Past
The most dangerous thing a leader can do is protect legacy success at the expense of future relevance. Rishad challenges leaders to stop holding on to outdated systems, structures, and mindsets that no longer reflect today’s realities.
"I often go to boards and say, no one can beat you or your company unless you decide to do it yourselves.
And you'll see that most countries, most companies and most leaders eventually defeat themselves."
He urges executives to actively disrupt their own models — before the market does it for them.
"When you see your metrics going very positive, it may mean you arrive for disruption. And sometimes you need to.
And sometimes when your metrics are not so good, it doesn't mean you don't have a good business, it means you're investing in change."
2. Rethink People, Strategy, and Structure — Together
According to Rishad, most failed transformations happen because companies try to evolve in isolation — updating systems without rethinking how people are organized, or shifting culture without aligning strategy.
“The biggest challenge in any transformation project is people. Everything is easy, but people get in the way.
Most companies make a mistake thinking that the future of their business is a strategy deck, an M&A plan, and reorganization. It is not.
It is about how you make sure that people are aligned, that people are incented, and people are trained for the future.”
It’s not enough to update one pillar of your business. Real transformation happens when all three evolve together, in context, with clear intent.
3. Prioritize Speed to Learn Over Speed to Scale
In a climate of uncertainty, the companies that thrive aren’t the fastest to grow — they’re the fastest to understand.
"Try to understand what your customers will need in the future, or what their customers will require in the future.
You need to understand who you will be competing with in the future.
And against those future competitive needs, customer needs and future competitors, what advantage will you provide?"
This shift in mindset is especially critical for leaders chasing scale at the expense of reflection.
Rishad argues that adaptability is now a stronger competitive advantage than pure growth velocity.
4. Track Leading Indicators, Not Just Lagging Metrics
Too many companies manage their business by looking in the rearview mirror. Financials, revenue, and profit margins may show you where you've been — but they don’t reveal where you’re headed.
“Sometimes you want to see your revenue go down versus if your revenue keeps going up and your profitability keeps going up.
It's an indication of either a very good business or you're about to be disrupted.”
Rishad pushes leaders to track the present signals of health: employee adaptability, new ideas, shifts in customer satisfaction, and the organization’s ability to withstand cultural strain.
“Quest for excellence, growth mindset, collaboration, and open and honest communication.
You don’t have that, it doesn’t matter what your strategy deck is, what your CEO says, or how much money you have — you will lose.”
If you're only measuring outcomes, you're missing the early warning signs, or early growth signals, that determine future relevance.
5. Lead With Courage, Not Just Control
In periods of change, people don’t follow titles — they follow those who lead with honesty, humility, and conviction.
“Because you are monitoring, checking in, allocating, measuring — like just bothering the hell out of them, which they just don’t need.
What a boss does is, they run around doing those things with a zone of control.
What a leader does is a zone of influence. They build, they create, they mentor, they guide.”
Rishad challenges leaders to stop pretending they have all the answers and instead show they’re willing to learn, adapt, and evolve alongside their teams.
"I say this to leaders, you have all these meetings, kick out one of those meetings and spend an hour learning.
Get somebody to teach you, read something, go figure it out, use something.
It’s amazing how many leaders are talking about AI and they don’t use it."
Courage, in his view, isn’t about command — it’s about modeling the kind of mindset you want the rest of the organization to adopt: open, curious, and unafraid to let go of what no longer works.
Bottom Line: Reinvention Isn’t Optional
The companies that survive what’s next won’t be the biggest or the loudest — they’ll be the ones that adapt, learn, and rethink fast.
Rishad’s closing message to leaders is clear: what brought you success before may not take you forward. Reinvention is no longer a choice — it’s a requirement.
"Once in a while, build a case for the exact opposite of what you think is true."
Here’s his top guidance for leaders navigating constant change:
- Question what you think still works — especially if it used to.
- Measure how you’re evolving, not just how you’re performing.
- Build a culture that learns faster than it grows.
The greatest threat to your business isn’t disruption — it’s the belief that what made you successful will keep you there.
🎧 Ready to rethink your strategy?
Catch the full conversation with Rishad Tobaccowala on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube.
About Rishad Tobaccowala
Rishad Tobaccowala is the former Chief Growth Officer of Publicis Groupe. He has advised leading global brands such as Amazon, Delta Air Lines, and Procter & Gamble and is recognized as a top business leader by BusinessWeek and AdAge. He's a globally respected strategist, futurist, and author of Restoring the Soul of Business and Re-Thinking Work.
