Let's recall the basics of the Choluteca Bridge Story:
The Choluteca River is in Honduras. Honduras is a country in Central America, a climatic region notorious for its powerful storms and destructive hurricanes.
The bridge across the Choluteca River was originally built in 1930. Plans to construct a more modern bridge over the Choluteca River started in 1996. This time around, both the redesign and reconstruction of the bridge took into consideration the peculiar destructive climatic conditions of the Central Americas. The new bridge was therefore built to withstand the very powerful natural storms and hurricanes that plagued the region.
Eventually, the new Choluteca Bridge built over the Choluteca River was opened to traffic in 1998. Spanning almost half a kilometre, the Choluteca Bridge was a state-of-the-art marvel of design and engineering construction, at that time. As the people drove from one side of the Choluteca River to the other, they could not help but admire the new bridge. It was the peoples pride and joy.
However in October 1998, Hurricane Mitch - a category 5 storm devastated the Caribbean Sea and its Islands. Honduras was not spared. It was estimated that Honduras received the equivalent of six months of rain in just four days of Hurricane Mitch. In fact, Honduras was wrecked:
◊ River Choluteca over-flowed its banks and flooded the entire region
◊ Roads were swept away
◊ Buildings were destroyed
◊ Close to 6,000 people died
◊ Over 12,000 people were injured
◊ Over 150 bridges were destroyed or damaged
At the end of it all, when the hurricane had calmed down, it was noticed that while all other bridges in Honduras were destroyed or damaged, the Choluteca Bridge survived and remained almost intact, just as designed. Yes, the Choluteca Bridge withstood the storms, but the roads leading to and from the bridge at both ends were swept away, leaving no trace that there were roads there before.
It was also noticed that the storm had forced River Choluteca itself to changed course. Thus instead of flowing as usual through and under the bridge, River Choluteca created a new channel, and now flowed through one end of the Choluteca Bridge, where there was once a road.
Yes, the Choluteca Bridge no longer had a Choluteca River flowing under it. So even though the Choluteca Bridge was strong enough to survive the hurricane, other unforeseen circumstances caused it to become a bridge over nothing. Indeed, it became a bridge to nowhere!
What are the Business Lessons from the Choluteca Bridge story?
The story reminds us that even as we create and build the best possible businesses, certain happenings beyond our control could still alter our business permutations.
As you set up your business to provide solutions to existing problems; never lose sight of the possibility that even those problems might change, making your business redundant.
As you plan to open more shop or office branches in every nook and corner of the town or state, consider that with modern digital trends and trade, physical shops and offices may gradually become a thing of the past.
The Choluteca Bridge story reminds us that while we focus on building a strong business (the Bridge), we should remember that:
♦ Problems could change
♦ Solutions could change
♦ Demand could change
♦ Markets could change
♦ Demography could change
♦ Technology could change
♦ Service delivery could change
♦ Change is the only constant
Business lesson from the Choluteca Bridge story is relevant today than ever. The business world and environment are dynamic. Build businesses that can easily adapt to change. You may want to reconsider your business philosophy: Build to Adapt, instead of Build to Last.
The Choluteca Bridge Story is a striking allegory to remind us of what can happen to any business. Business disruptions can happen in ways we never anticipated. We must be ready to adapt or perish!
″It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.″
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
Related: Will Your Business Remain Relevant Tomorrow? Find out!
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Stay Smart, Wealthy and Wise!
© Jay Onwukwe
