The Red Queen

   It is amazing what one character from a writer has inspired.  The Red Queen from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass talks about the paradox of constant change (as seen in the discussions of the chess promotion from pawn to queen).

   In business, "Red Queen marketing" is launching new products to replace past failed launches while the overall brand sales is static or minimal.

   Matt Ridley in his book, The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature, says, "One of the peculiar features of history is that time always erodes advantage. Every invention sooner or later leads to a counterinvention. Every success contains the seeds of its overthrow. Every hegemony comes to an end. Evolutionary history is no different…The faster you run, the more the world moves with you and the less progress you make. Life is a chess tournament in which if you win a game, you start the next game with the handicap of a missing pawn."  

   Nick Maggiulli in "The Red Queen of Investing" took from this Matt Ridley's statement that "the theory implies that you cannot stop adapting. You have to run as fast as you can just to stay in the same place." Nick has also said in an article, "...If the Red Queen has taught you anything, it should be that you (and your assets) will never be safe. No advantage will persist forever. ..."