I heard this quote on yesterday's Marketplace (which - let's be honest - is totally underrated). The topic of conversation was (unsurprisingly) the debate surrounding the government shutdown, and Kai noted a conversation that he had with Lisa Goldenberg, COO of Delaware Steel, who was quoted:

I was on the phone with several presidents [of other steel companies] just this morning and everyone is saying they're spending more time reading and trying to figure out what's going on than actually transacting [business].

And I'm thinking: If you're lucky enough to run a company and *not* spend most of your time figuring out what's going on, kudos to you. But what portion of midsize manufacturers are really doing that? And as ideas and business models continue to turn over at an increasingly rapid pace (citation needed), how long will the companies whose C-Suites *don't* spend most of their time paying attention to trends be able to stay around?

My feeling: If you're on your game, you're constantly struggling to stay ahead. It's okay if that's not you - but it's important to be honest with yourself about the consequences.