Original 2021 statement: Most successful companies today will eventually go the way of Sears, Blockbuster, and Kodak - because of leadership complacency and hubris
What Jim has written about this
From “Daily Inspiration: “Reinvent! If you examine your situation carefully, there is always an opportunity for you to be a ‘new you’!”” (January 2019)
And yet Apple’s situation could be the waypoint for every organization. I’ve been speaking to every industry about fast change for 25 years - and I know that their markets, products and industries will likely not be recognizable within 5 to 10 years. Some don’t get it. They become Sears, Kodak, Blockbuster.
Maybe you too have become like Sears and Kodak. You get stuck. You develop habits that are hard to break. You don’t always see your blind spots, your weaknesses, and you lost touch with what makes you, you. You resist change. You fail.
From “Pardon Me While I Interrupt Your Complacency! Companies Die From Organizational Sclerosis: Here’s Why!” (November 2019)
But I was talking with one client today, and I was identifying all the things I saw wrong with their denial of the future. I realized my original post above was a good, concise list of the type of complacency that kills companies.
you think that Kodak, Blackberry, Blockbuster, Sears, Motorola had awesome, sustainable world class business strategies
From “Daily Inspiration: “Yesterday’s success is often meaningless: it’s what you do next that really matters!”” (January 2020)
History has taught us that every single organization that has failed has relied too much on yesterday, instead of placing sufficient focus on tomorrow. Um, Kodak, Blockbuster, Sears…
You are your own worst Kodak at times, aren’t you? Busy running a Sears department store inside your mind while Amazon is running all around you…
Read the full pieces on jimcarroll.com:
Daily Inspiration: “Reinvent! If you examine your situation carefully, there is always an opportunity for you to be a ‘new you’!”
Pardon Me While I Interrupt Your Complacency! Companies Die From Organizational Sclerosis: Here’s Why!
Daily Inspiration: “Yesterday’s success is often meaningless: it’s what you do next that really matters!”