“No business plan survives its first contact with customers.”

“No plan survives contact with the enemy”

“No plan of battle survives contact with the enemy, and time is the ultimate opponent.”

“Customers don't ask to see your business plan.”

“It was a good plan, and like all plans since the dawn of time, this would fail to survive contact with real life.”

“The Roman state survives by its ancient customs and its manhood.”
Moribus antiquis res stat Romana virisque.

“No plan survives the first encounter with your enemy, so why bother to make one?”

“If you want to stay in business, satisfy customers. If you want to excel in business, delight customers.”

“As for modern Journalism, its not my business to defend it. It justifies its own existence by the great Darwinian principle of the survival of the vulgarest.”

“In order to survive, the organization must have an objective that appeals to its customers, so that they will make the contributions necessary to sustain it. Hence, organization objectives are constantly adapted to conform to the changing values of customers, or to secure new groups of customers in place of customers who have dropped away. The organization may also undertake special activities to induce acceptance of its objectives by customers - advertising, missionary work, and propaganda of all sorts.”