I've spent some time making the case for durable skills. Now let's go a level deeper one skill at a time: what it is and why it matters. There may be an official list of durable skills somewhere, but I haven't found it. I'm making my own, built from years of watching these skills shape the businesses I work with. You'll see these pop up between other editions as I work through the list. First up: adaptability.
Adaptability is a growth strategy. The businesses that thrive are run by people who adapt before they have to.
The definition I'm working from: the ability and willingness to quickly adjust your mindset, behavior, or systems to thrive in changing, unpredictable, or entirely new environments.
I ran a Salesforce consulting practice for thirteen years. The clients were good, the income was solid, and for a long time, it worked. Then it stopped working, not because the business failed, but because I outgrew it. My life had changed, the industry had changed, and I could see that trying to keep running the same business would mean running something that no longer fit.
I had a choice: transform the Salesforce practice or build something new. I built something new. You're reading about it.
That's what proactive adaptability looks like. It means reading what's in front of you honestly enough to make the move.
We're living through a version of this in real time. AI is reshaping the way we work faster than most people are prepared for, and those who are able to adapt will thrive in this new landscape.
Research on adaptability points to something more active than most people practice. To build this skill, you need to be actively prepared for change, even advocate for it, and consistently add new capabilities so your skills can meet what's coming. The people who adapt well are the ones who've been paying attention.
For entrepreneurs, this matters beyond strategy. Adaptable people handle change with less stress, because they look for the opportunity change creates. The burnout I see most often comes from rigidity: holding onto a version of a business that stopped fitting, white-knuckling through change instead of getting ahead of it.
Curiosity is what makes change feel less like a threat. When something unfamiliar shows up, adaptable people get interested. That curiosity is what keeps you moving forward.
The way to build this skill deliberately is to start paying attention to what's shifting around you before it becomes urgent: your industry, your clients, your own energy and constraints. Reframe the question from "can I respond if something changes?" to "am I building toward what's coming?"
Carrie
Hi! I’m Carrie. I believe doing good work and living the life you want are not in conflict. If you’re ready to build that way, reply to this email or see how we can work together.
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