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The verb “sur·vive”
1. To remain alive or in existence. 2. To carry on despite hardships or trauma; to persevere. 3. To remain functional or usable. 4. To live longer than; outlive. 5. To live, persist, or remain usable. Phil felt the buzz of the alarm on his watch and slowly opened his eyes. He once could wake at 5 a.m. without need for an alarm, but those days were gone. In his 20s, 30s, 40s, even early 50s, his wife often teased him about this phenomenon. “It just goes to show you never relax,” she would say. Phil had to admit that was true. He was always active and looking to improve himself. He didn't believe in combed-over hair, dyes that could take the gray out of his mustache, or liposuction, but he did feel a man should try to maintain his health. So on this foggy, rainy morning, Phil got out of bed quietly as his wife slept and went down the hall to his stationary bike. He logged in 30 minutes, and after a hot shave climbed into the shower to cool down. His coffee machine had been preset so he simply clamped the lid on the cup as he readied his briefcase and retrieved from the refrigerator the lunch he had made the previous evening.
The car was turned around in the driveway and all gassed up for the week. Exactly one hour after Phil had awoken, he was on the road. The ride to work was about 20 minutes, so he arrived in the parking lot with usually 10 minutes to spare. He keyed into the office, fired up his computer, and sat down to check his voice-mail messages. He made a handful of notes, set his smart-phone to charge, and took a sip of coffee. The day ahead would be busy with meetings and details about the annual budget review, and then he needed to fill out his “changing” list.
The changing list was a tool Phil had created after his first 20 years with the company. With his share of promotions and accomplishments, clearly his career was winding down, but it was noteworthy that Phil was now working in his fourth management overhaul. He was the hardworking underling for 10 years, the creative middle manager for another 10, the accomplished professional for the last 10, and now he was like a senior statesman. He served as a constant reference point, a historical icon that was still in there throwing hard like a seasoned baseball pitcher. His curve didn’t have the same stuff, but he still had a blazing fastball. Phil was no fool. He had survived those four management and cultural renovations by staying alert, remaining open to change, and most importantly knowing what he was good at and applying that over and over, albeit each time in a different form.