Changes in the economic landscape are sweeping aside all the old certainties around doing business. Tomorrow’s environment will be different, but no less rich in possibilities for those who are prepared.

A successful business strategy relies on how you accept, embrace and adapt to your New Normal. The term “New Normal” was coined in response to the most recent recession and the new economic paradigms that resulted. For some organizations, near-term survival is the only agenda item. Others are peering through the fog of uncertainty, thinking about how to position themselves, once the crisis has passed and things return to normal. The question is, “What will normal look like? The new normal will be shaped by a confluence of powerful forces—some arising directly from the financial crisis and some that were at work long before it began.

We might wish for the old days, but it’s the “Now” days that are the new reality. And nowhere more than in Business is the New Normal so apparent. Revolutionary technology, a global economy, big data, legal and regulatory initiatives, security concerns, increased competition, and fluctuating financial markets – the changes affecting business arise on a daily basis.

Just when you think you’ve got it wired, again…things change, again. You’re facing yet another New Normal.

How you accept, embrace and adapt to these changes — a willingness to learn and apply new practices to how you do business — is a predictor of how you will succeed in your New Normal. Continuing to do business the same old way, persistence in thinking that things will return to the “Old Normal,” and a resistance to effecting your own changes, could spell the downfall of your business.

Making a commitment to learning more and being receptive, helps. Sometimes asking for help, helps. The goal is to survive, thrive and live to fight another day. Executives preparing their organizations to succeed in the new normal must focus on what has changed and what remains basically the same for their customers, companies, and industries. The result will be an environment that, while different from the past, is no less rich in possibilities for those who are prepared.

Adapted from Martha Spelman’s blog What’s Your New Normal?.