The Praying Mantis is a remarkable example of evolutionary adaptation. I saw one today and marveled at how well it had adapted to prey on unsuspecting insects. It was solid brown, looked like a stick and has lethal forearms and claws. It is easy to understand how it can blend into the limb it is standing on and capture its prey as it wanders by.
Trouble is, the Praying Mantis that I saw was on my garage wall, which is solid white. So, it stuck out like, well, a carnivorous bug. This particular specimen wasn’t going to surprise any prey. It may as well have hung up a sign saying " BUGS BEWARE, I"M HERE TO EAT YOU!"
The Preying Mantis has an exceptional Success Formula… for the right habitat (context). However, when the context changed, that Success Formula became a liability. A brown colored Praying Mantis on a white background loses the element of surprise, and will go hungry.
That’s exactly what has happened to countless businesses today. They developed Success Formulas for a different competitive environment and have not adapted adequately to the changing business context. They’re like a brown Praying Mantis on a white wall, and they are struggling and suffering as a result.