Those that cling on are told they must specialise, in finance, marketing and so on.
But now they face a battle to cling on to their way of life.
That Mr Mori is being allowed to cling on to office for a few weeks more is typical.
But Mr Maliki has been doggedly seeking to cling on in other ways.
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Once you have got that lead, it's always something to cling on to and you tend to find an extra yard.
The replacement could not cling on to Nick Scruton's reverse offload two metres from the Saints tryline, much to the 22-year-old's frustrations.
But incumbency may still enable some Tories to cling on to seats which otherwise would have been swept away by a Blairite tide.
If there were any chance that Mr Sakakibara might replace him, Mr Hayami would almost certainly want to cling on to the end.
Or Mr Mori may cling on until April, to ensure that budget legislation, passed by the lower house of parliament on Monday, is enacted.
But the grandson of Scouts founder Robert Baden-Powell told the BBC that the words of the oath provide a "sense of purpose to cling on to".
Australian Voges played a more textbook innings, although he did survive on 18 when Craig Kieswetter failed to cling on to a difficult chance down the legside.
England were again fortunate when Olic got the better of Bridge but this time Carson was able to cling on to his low drive away to his right.
Tunisia, which revolted first, throwing out its president of 23 years, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, has also been the first to discover how grimly the old guard cling on.
However much we want to cling on to the values of the 1990s and 2000s there is a potentially more exciting but at the same time more confusing future ahead.
Having survived a difficult chance when Botha could not cling on to one running back from cover, Hussey took the batting powerplay with 37 overs gone and 131 still needed.
Having recovered their two-goal deficit by midway through the second half, Raja continually pounded the Asec goal, with the Ivorians desperately attempting to cling on to force the match to penalties.
His fate is believed to have been sealed on Wednesday, when deputy chief whip John Randall reportedly had to be talked out of quitting in protest at his determination to cling on.
Clare Short (International Development) will be relying on her popularity among voters and Labour members to cling on to her place, though some of Mr Blair's closest friends think she's a loose cannon.
On the one side, carriers want to cling on to financial control of the airwaves, while on the other, Internet giants like Google want it free and increasingly populated by people using their services.
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Spain, France and Portugal managed to cling on to some restricted exemptions, particularly relating to crews operating far from land in mixed fisheries where the cost of landing unwanted fish is deemed to be prohibitive.
For example, Labour might have escaped its humiliation in London if Mr Blair had not tried so transparently to cling on via his party to the power he claimed to be surrendering to a mayor.
Indeed, Formula One is increasingly made up of a trio of leading teams, a handful of middle-rankers, and a long tail of slower cars which somehow cling on, helped by the largesse from Mr Ecclestone.
Shakhtar produced some sparkling football as they showed the quality that helped them win the tournament last season, but they failed to capitalise on their ascendancy and now face a fight to cling on to their trophy.
In recent days the chances of a rosy outcome have grown, but Mr Kuchma, like his fellow post-Soviet leaders in neighbouring states, can be relied upon to do his best to cling on as long as possible.
Small figures cling on for dear life.
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However, left unchecked, those fears can drive us to cling on to the hope that if we procrastinate long enough, our situation will improve, or our misgivings will magically evaporate and be replaced with newfound clarity and courage.
Spain, France and Portugal managed to cling on to some restricted exemptions on fish discards, particularly relating to crews operating far from land in mixed fisheries where the cost of landing unwanted fish is deemed to be prohibitive.
Mr Mitchell's fate is believed to have been sealed on Wednesday, when deputy chief whip John Randall reportedly had to be talked out of quitting in protest at his determination to cling on, following a stormy prime minister's question time.
What took many aback, however, was that in France's regional elections last year some members of the centre-right took the hand of the National Front, thus offering it a degree of respectability, in order to cling on to power themselves.
"I think when you go through tragedy as a city you kind of look for something to cling on, and really I believe that the city of Boston lives and dies with our sports teams and they're going to be watching closely, " longtime Celtics star Paul Pierce said.
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