When I tell someone I went to college at NC State and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Textile Technology and Management the normal reply is, "TEXTILES! Why would you study that?"

and my usual explanation is, this is an analytical business degree applied to a specific industry, where I was able to get an in depth look at one industry rather than learn a little about a lot of industries.

I never had more than a summer job working in the textile industry, once at Parkdale mills yarn plants #11 and #23 in Rowan County and another summer working for Grupo Lajat in a yarn plant in Northern Mexico. My first job out of college was with a .com startup in the Research Triangle Park consulting large companies on how to adapt their business models to the changing business world.

One of the most important lessons I learned from the textile industry is...you must learn to adapt to todays business environment if you want to play in tomorrow business game.

Is the type of business you run any different?

Adapting to change is critical to survive, whether it's a business or while hiking a 2,000 mile trail.

Urban Driftwood, LLC - 704-345-7091 - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it