Will your company still exist in 10 years?

If you just take a look at the recent headlines in the Handelsblatt, such as "Auto suppliers facing a fiasco" or "German economic downturn jeopardizes bank profits," it should be clear to even the last doubter that the golden years unfortunately will be over soon. While revenue or profit growth has steadily increased over the past decades, suddenly there is a decline in growth, followed by stagnation before the numbers suddenly collapse completely like a waterfall. My question now is, how will entrepreneurs react to these circumstances? The classic impulse and common practice is to hit the brakes, focusing entirely on cost savings. Surely, this is not a bad idea, as in years of prosperity, an unhealthy "fat layer" almost always builds up, which should be shed through a sustainable diet. But will this be enough in our current times to stop the waterfall? What exactly is the reason for the sudden and radical decrease in revenues/profits? I believe this time there is a radical market consolidation, rooted in the fact that some companies have prepared better for the digital age, while others have not or have already fully incorporated it into their business models. As Peter Drucker already noted in 1992, "every few hundred years in Western history there occurs a sharp transformation" and that "in such periods, the whole society rearranges itself within decades." Our current digital age is exactly such a transformative phase! The question is whether entrepreneurs understand that times have radically changed and that sticking to the old ways, where I linger in my traditional business model and hope that "times will get better again," is the worst possible idea. It is an evolutionary law that those who do not adapt to changing circumstances are doomed to fail. Therefore, it would be sensible to invest all available energy in strategic innovation management, in addition to cost savings, and become a company that is optimally prepared for the changing circumstances. Change always happens through pleasure or pain. If we in Europe do not quickly start to critically review and adapt our business models constructively from a position of strength (pleasure), or even develop completely new digital business models, then we will not be able to sustain our prosperity in the long run. Quickly build additional pillars, for example through digital business models, to secure the existence of your company or corporate group. Take advantage of the current "gold rush times" (endless, unmet customer needs combined with exciting, established future technologies) to either transform the existing company or establish new ones. So, it remains: "Innovate or die!"