Record

​“A record is not something to stand on, it is something to build on.”  I just read that in the book of speeches I am reading.  Got me thinking.  Though being before 7am it was probably too early.  Reminded me of a guy on one team that visited our club for morning table tennis and was not playing well and said he never plays table tennis before noon.
I reckon the record quote is a good one as I have seen it so often.  Being involved in the printing industry and taking an interest in photography I think of a company like Kodak.  There is no doubt in my mind they had a good record but today they do not dominate the market like they once did.
Things changed.  The old saying is “adapt or die” and I do not see evidence of them adapting in the digital environment.  They are still around but it is a niche role rather than a dominant one.
Of course a good record is always better than a non-good one….perhaps bad is a better word.  I personally will always investigate the product of a company with a good record as opposed to one with a bad record.  But a company cannot rest on its laurels.  Nations and kingdoms have come undone because they rested on their laurels rather than adapt.
It seems other companies try to force me to use their product to avoid competition.  I escape their clutches as quickly as I can and do not go back.  To me, loyalty is earned not forced.
It seems to me this Covid-19 has set the cat among the pigeons.  The record of globalization had been seen to be a success.  Covid-19 is forcing a serious re-think of processes once taken for granted.
Many have lost their jobs.  Businesses will go to the wall.  For everyone life is not the same.  A vaccine is seen as the great hope but there is no guarantee one will be found.  Good records have been good for many.  Yet a good record alone does not guarantee survival.  Companies must adapt.
I have forgotten the industry this guy and his wife were involved in, but it ceased.  They saw Covid-19 was forcing many to stay home.  Now they make stay at home work furniture, and are getting enquiries from across the globe.  If they had of stood on their record, they would have been left with nothing to stand on.  Instead they built on it.
I have set up a number of picture frames with things I want to display inside.  I notice on a couple of them items have fallen to the bottom.  Most are a success.  Those are a failure (though I prefer to call the mistake, art)
Good records to me are a great foundation.  Generally, things look good at the start, but if the foundation is flawed, it becomes obvious.  A good record in my mind can never come  from a flimsy foundation.
This sort of thing affects my outlook. I want a record built on a firm foundation that produces a record I can stand on and build on, even when it means adapting.