Complacency, Arrogance, and Greed
Rich Teerlink, the former CEO of Harley Davidson, has pointed out that it’s not competitors that damage organizations, it’s “complacency, arrogance, or greed.” I think he’s right on target. First of all, competition is inevitable in today’s global free-markets. You can’t escape it. Yet even when it’s fierce, any forward-looking and well-led company can succeed. Just think about where you shop: There’s Wal-Mart, Costco, Target, Nordstrom, Zara, Saks, Victoria’s Secret, Dollar Stores, Bed Bath and Beyond, and on and on. Each with a different business model, many serving different market niches—all successful despite ruthless competition in their industry. Competition per se doesn’t kill organizations .
Like Teerlink, I think the real culprits are complacency, arrogance, and greed. Consider:
First, Complacency: the notion of “why fix it if it ain’t broke?” Buddy, it’s broke, or it’s in the process of breaking. Today’s good numbers ought to be celebrated, but remember they’re a scorecard of yesterday’s decisions. If your numbers are good today, that means you were both smart enough and lucky enough to have made some good decisions yesterday. But assuming “why fix it?” under these conditions is akin to assuming that tomorrow’s conditions will be the same as yesterday’s. They won’t even be the same as today’s.
Next, Arrogance: the smug notion that hey, we’re big and we’re powerful, ergo we’re invincible. No such luck. Nobody is safe today, regardless of one’s size and press clippings. In today’s marketplace, it’s intangibles like speed, innovation, responsiveness, and agility that make the difference. That's why countless large corporations have, like dinosaurs, become extinct over the past 20 years. (Of the list of 1980 Fortune 500 companies, more than 50% no longer exist; and many that do exist sometimes appear to be nearing life-support, witness GM, US Airways, and Kodak).
Arrogance locks companies and leaders into protecting their decaying products and technologies, subsidizing internal processes and systems that are becoming irrelevant or obsolete, and unwilling to show genuine humility to the forces of the marketplace that demand disruptive change.
Finally, Greed: the dysfunctional obsession with more, more, and more. When companies are greedy, they swallow up other organizations in a serial acquisition orgy primarily so the CEO can state that “his” (it’s usually a he) company is the biggest, or that his company can provide everything (beware the “one stop shopping” fantasy; customers don’t cooperate with that vision and it’s impossible for any vendor to do everything great). Greedy companies often become fat; their decisions often become dumb, ergo the “fat, dumb, happy” syndrome. Of course, greedy companies are run by greedy leaders. When leaders are greedy, their decisions are based mainly on what will make them look better, or personally wealthier. Decisions are based primarily on self-aggrandizement, not on what will make the company stronger and more vibrant in the future.
Competitors shouldn’t be ignored. They need to be monitored and tracked. They need to be fought, too. But as leaders, remember that, ultimately, it’s not competitors who will do us in. Complacency, arrogance or greed will.
Like Teerlink, I think the real culprits are complacency, arrogance, and greed. Consider:
First, Complacency: the notion of “why fix it if it ain’t broke?” Buddy, it’s broke, or it’s in the process of breaking. Today’s good numbers ought to be celebrated, but remember they’re a scorecard of yesterday’s decisions. If your numbers are good today, that means you were both smart enough and lucky enough to have made some good decisions yesterday. But assuming “why fix it?” under these conditions is akin to assuming that tomorrow’s conditions will be the same as yesterday’s. They won’t even be the same as today’s.
Next, Arrogance: the smug notion that hey, we’re big and we’re powerful, ergo we’re invincible. No such luck. Nobody is safe today, regardless of one’s size and press clippings. In today’s marketplace, it’s intangibles like speed, innovation, responsiveness, and agility that make the difference. That's why countless large corporations have, like dinosaurs, become extinct over the past 20 years. (Of the list of 1980 Fortune 500 companies, more than 50% no longer exist; and many that do exist sometimes appear to be nearing life-support, witness GM, US Airways, and Kodak).
Arrogance locks companies and leaders into protecting their decaying products and technologies, subsidizing internal processes and systems that are becoming irrelevant or obsolete, and unwilling to show genuine humility to the forces of the marketplace that demand disruptive change.
Finally, Greed: the dysfunctional obsession with more, more, and more. When companies are greedy, they swallow up other organizations in a serial acquisition orgy primarily so the CEO can state that “his” (it’s usually a he) company is the biggest, or that his company can provide everything (beware the “one stop shopping” fantasy; customers don’t cooperate with that vision and it’s impossible for any vendor to do everything great). Greedy companies often become fat; their decisions often become dumb, ergo the “fat, dumb, happy” syndrome. Of course, greedy companies are run by greedy leaders. When leaders are greedy, their decisions are based mainly on what will make them look better, or personally wealthier. Decisions are based primarily on self-aggrandizement, not on what will make the company stronger and more vibrant in the future.
Competitors shouldn’t be ignored. They need to be monitored and tracked. They need to be fought, too. But as leaders, remember that, ultimately, it’s not competitors who will do us in. Complacency, arrogance or greed will.
posted by Oren Harari at 10:42 AM
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