Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s, I remember the first air conditioner to arrive at our house was this heavy “window type” model. People from my generation would remember, since it was the only model around at that time 😊

It lasted forever without gas leakages every 5-6 months, unlike today’s models, and we probably gave it away when we moved.

Same thing with our fridge which was a stubborn, hefty thing. It hummed along for 20 or 30 years, repairable, inelegant, and reliable. Today’s fridges look sleeker and do more, but they are engineered for a much shorter life.

Not because engineers forgot how to build long-lasting machines but because selling another unit is more profitable than keeping the old one alive.

But this is not only true for consumer electronics. It holds for everything. We live in the age of disposable everything.

Clothes make this painfully obvious. Fast fashion has trained us to accept that a shirt is supposed to last a handful of washes, maybe a season, and then fade, tear, or lose its shape. Not because better fabric or stitching is impossible but because durability is no longer the point.

This is not innovation. It is optimization for turnover.

Products are no longer built for durability. They are built as placeholders. Buy, use and replace. Repeat. Volume has replaced value. The question is not “How long will this last?” but “How quickly can we sell the next one?”

The language gives it away. “Value-engineered.” “Cost-optimized.” “Affordable.” Polite ways of saying this thing is designed to be temporary.

While consumers suffer from this strategy, the problem for businesses is that disposable products lead to disposable businesses. When customers stop expecting longevity, loyalty evaporates.

You might boost revenue today, but you do not build trust; you simply scale sales instead of building your brand to last a few lifetimes.

When you take pride in building things what would you rather build – things meant to endure or things meant to be thrown away?

Because in the long run, businesses that survive will not be the ones that sold the most units. They will be the ones that remembered how to make things that last.

This principle applies to physical products, services and anyone building a personal brand. The more your work emphasizes quality and durability, the stronger your reputation will become.

Worth thinking about 🤔