--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many legacy institutions (like Kodak)…" description: "\"“Many legacy institutions (like Kodak) once were able to make a great living resting on their laurels. According to Yale professor Richard Foster, in t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/peter-h-diamandis-15312_age-life_many-legacy-institutions-like-kodak-once_2874363.jpg" --- # Many legacy institutions (like Kodak) once were able to… ![“Many legacy institutions (like Kodak) once were able to make a great living resting on their laurels. According to Yale professor Richard Foster, in the 1920s the average life span of an S&P 500 company was sixty-seven years.14 Not anymore. Today the final three Ds in our chain reaction can…” quote by Peter H. Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/peter-h-diamandis-15312_age-life_many-legacy-institutions-like-kodak-once_2874363.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/peter-h-diamandis-15312_age-life_many-legacy-institutions-like-kodak-once_2874363.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9b/peter-h-diamandis-15312_age-life_many-legacy-institutions-like-kodak-once_2874363.jpg) > ““Many legacy institutions (like Kodak) once were able to make a great living resting on their laurels. According to Yale professor Richard Foster, in the 1920s the average life span of an S&P 500 company was sixty-seven years.14 Not anymore. Today the final three Ds in our chain reaction can disassemble companies and disrupt industries almost overnight, reducing the average life span of a twenty-first-century S&P 500 company to only fifteen years. Ten years from now, according to research done at the Babson School of Business, more than 40 percent of today’s top companies will no longer exist.15 “By 2020,” comments Foster, “more than three quarters of the S&P 500 will be companies that we have not heard of yet.”” [Peter H. Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-diamandis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rapid change shortens corporate lifespans; disruption can erase established firms within years. **In simple terms:** Companies die faster now because of swift disruption. Key Takeaway Adapt quickly or risk obsolescence. Themes innovation disruption corporate longevity technology economics Mood urgent concerned analytical Type warning strategic When to use this quote - investment decisions - career planning - risk management - industry analysis Key Concepts Business cycles creative destruction strategic agility Questions to Reflect On - How can firms build resilience against rapid disruption? - What strategies can extend a company's relevance? A Different Perspective Assumes all disruption is negative, ignoring potential for renewal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Average life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/average-life/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Fifteen years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fifteen-years/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life span](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-span/) ## Related quotes > [“sixty-seven years.14 Not anymore. 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Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-diamandis/) > [“Decentralized means learning cannot easily be curtailed by autocratic governments and is considerably more immune to socioeconomic upheaval.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-diamandis/decentralized-means-learning-cannot-easily-be-curtailed-by-autocratic/) [Peter H. Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-diamandis/) > [“Teaching kids how to nourish their creativity and curiosity, while still providing a sound foundation in critical thinking, literacy and math, is the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-diamandis/teaching-kids-how-to-nourish-their-creativity-and-curiosity-while/) [Peter H. Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-diamandis/) > [“the value of the ecosystems services our environment now provides (for free) has been calculated at $36 trillion a year—a figure roughly equal to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-diamandis/the-value-of-the-ecosystems-services-our-environment-now-provides-for/) [Peter H. Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-diamandis/) > [“Tony Hseih, CEO of Zappos, helped disrupt the retail space by emphasizing mastery, making the “pursuit of growth and learning” central to his corporate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-diamandis/tony-hseih-ceo-of-zappos-helped-disrupt-the-retail-space-by/) [Peter H. Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-diamandis/) > [“Human beings are designed to be local optimists and global pessimists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-diamandis/human-beings-are-designed-to-be-local-optimists-and-global-pessimists/) [Peter H. Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-diamandis/) > [“of these are services we can yet provide for ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-diamandis/of-these-are-services-we-can-yet-provide-for-ourselves/) [Peter H. Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-diamandis/) > [“Currently the majority of the world’s seven thousand desalination plants rely on thermal desalination (often called “multistage flash”) or reverse osmosis. The former means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-diamandis/currently-the-majority-of-the-world-s-seven-thousand-desalination/) [Peter H. Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-diamandis/) [Explore all 43 Peter H. Diamandis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-diamandis/) ## More Age life quotes > [In one century, we've added 28 years to our average life span - a change so rapid that our brains couldn't possibly have evolved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/in-one-century-we-ve-added-28-years-to-our-average-life-span-a-change/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Iam a teenage girl, I love, get my heart broken, break heart, parrty, sleep like there's no tommorow, ake mistakes, tears, get into fight,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/iam-a-teenage-girl-i-love-get-my-heart-broken-break-heart-parrty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Were anyone wondering how Sen. Harry Reid intended to manage life in the minority, it took one day of the 114th Congress to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberley-strassel/were-anyone-wondering-how-sen-harry-reid-intended-to-manage-life-in/) Kimberley Strassel > [Cancer has been the No. 1 cause of death during the last half-century. The trend is getting even worse as the average life span increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasuku-honjo/cancer-has-been-the-no-1-cause-of-death-during-the-last-half-century/) [Tasuku Honjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasuku-honjo/) > [“sixty-seven years.14 Not anymore. Today the final three Ds in our chain reaction can disassemble companies and disrupt industries almost overnight, reducing the average…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-diamandis/sixty-seven-years-14-not-anymore-today-the-final-three-ds-in-our/) [Peter H. Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-diamandis/) > [If I could transform my stage life to the movies, I'd be Jack Nicholson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-dennehy/if-i-could-transform-my-stage-life-to-the-movies-i-d-be-jack-nicholson/) [Brian Dennehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-dennehy/) > [“Death was a constant fact of life. 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C. Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-benson/) > [Policy people suffer their own kind of agony, and no wonder. After all, what is the average life of the policy person? You go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/policy-people-suffer-their-own-kind-of-agony-and-no-wonder-after-all/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [In 1820, the average lifespan was just 26 years. Twenty-six years!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-diamandis/in-1820-the-average-lifespan-was-just-26-years-twenty-six-years/) [Peter Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-diamandis/) > [“In my old age, I see that life itself is often more fantastic and terrible than the stories we believed as children, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/in-my-old-age-i-see-that-life-itself-is-often-more-fantastic-and/) [Eowyn Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/) > [My aunt made stuff; my mom was creative, so I was surrounded by that. When I moved to England, it was '75, and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-cornejo/my-aunt-made-stuff-my-mom-was-creative-so-i-was-surrounded-by-that/) [Maria Cornejo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-cornejo/) > [Everything you now do is something you have chosen to do. Some people don't want to believe that. But if you're over age twenty-one,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/everything-you-now-do-is-something-you-have-chosen-to-do-some-people/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) Browse all 175 Age life quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Many legacy institutions (like Kodak) once were able to make a great living resting on their laurels. According to Yale professor Richard Foster, in the 1920s the average life span of an S&P 500 company was sixty-seven years.14 Not anymore. Today the final three Ds in our chain reaction can disassemble companies and disrupt industries almost overnight, reducing the average life span of a twenty-first-century S&P 500 company to only fifteen years. Ten years from now, according to research done at the Babson School of Business, more than 40 percent of today’s top companies will no longer exist.15 “By 2020,” comments Foster, “more than three quarters of the S&P 500 will be companies that we have not heard of yet.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter H. 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