Most people think the biggest threat to their organization is the competition. But what I’ve found is that the most dangerous enemy is usually already inside the building.
And honestly, leaders aren’t to be blamed. Success breeds complacency and wealth, which inevitably lead to the inertia of routine, in which old structures and practices persist long after they have lost their utility.
That’s when leaders mistake grand strategy for setting goals to conquer the competition — because that’s what they’ve been doing all along — while completely ignoring the festering organizational dysfunction that’s going to eventually kill them.
The way I see it, the problem starts all the way back when everything started working. And once everything starts to fall in place, why would you fix anything if it’s not broken? Instead, this is the time to double down on refinement, processes, and efficiency, so everything feels like ‘clockwork.’
This is what happened in the 1920s, when Alfred P. Sloan’s system of decentralized operations saved General Motors. By the 21st century, those same structures had devolved into silos so entrenched that two teams couldn’t share information about a $2 faulty part — one that took over a decade to fix and cost more than a hundred lives.
It’s ironic that the very management, structure, and processes established to serve customers become rigid organizational constraints when a new, disruptive technology requires its groups to communicate and work together.
I’m wondering whether it’s possible that companies can also fail even when they are well-managed. Could it be?