I came in on Monday believing that the biggest threat to any organization is external competition. By Friday, I’m convinced the most dangerous enemy is already inside the building.
What genuinely surprised me was the power and impact of organizational inertia — how it creeps in, festers, and silently destroys companies while talented leaders and teams watch in wonder how it all happened.
Because they’re too into the action — surviving tyranny, the clashing of egos, or getting actively complacent. Too engrossed in themselves and their self-interests to see what’s coming.
As a leader, I can future-proof myself and my organization, but looking too far ahead doesn’t guarantee anything — especially when I’m barely paying attention to the dysfunction that has begun to fester. And if I let it happen, that doesn’t just make me a super-forecaster or a pathetic ignoramus, but both… and an idiot.
Which leaves me sitting with a question I genuinely can’t resolve yet — a leader with a shorter runway to save an organization at the brink of non-existence, dealing with a team that has clearly lost the plot. What do they do? Focus on the future? Or roll up their sleeves and fix the culture first?