The self-Destructive Habits of good Comp

by Jagdish N. Sheth

Why Even Great Companies Fail: Diagnose the Symptoms and Cure Them!

 

Conquer—or prevent—the seven disastrous “addictions” that can destroy your company

Overcome corporate denial, arrogance, complacency, “competency dependence,” turf wars, and more

For every executive, strategist, entrepreneur, and manager who wants to sustain success

GM. Ford. AT&T. Sears. Firestone. Krispy Kreme. Digital. Kodak. Once, they were riding high, the exemplars of business excellence. Then, disaster. Is your company headed for the same fate? How do you know? How do you change course? Find out. Shine a light on the dark places in your business. Uncover your self-destructive habits before they destroy you. The blinders, culture confl icts, and corporate denial. The competitive myopia. The focus on volume, not profits. Root them out—all of them. Then, instill the good habits your business needs: the habits of sustainable profitability and market leadership. This book shows you how—in detail, from start to finish.

 

Why do so many good companies engage in self-destructive behavior? This book identifies seven dangerous habits even well-run companies fall victim to–and helps you diagnose and break these habits before they destroy you. Through case studies from some of yesterday’s most widely praised corporate icons, you’ll learn how companies slip into “addiction” and slide off the rails...why some never turn around...and how others achieve powerful turnarounds, moving on to unprecedented levels of success. You’ll learn how anobsession with volume leads inexorably to rising costs and falling margins...how companies fall victim to denial, myth, ritual, and orthodoxy... how they start wasting vital energy on culture confl ict and turf wars...how they blind themselves to emerging competition...how they become arrogant, complacent, and far too dependent on their traditional competences. Most important, you’ll find specific, detailed techniques for “curing”–or, better yet, preventing–every one of these self-destructive habits.

The “cocoon” of denial

Find it, admit it, assess it, and escape it

The stigma of arrogance

Escape this fault that “breeds in a dark, closed room”

The virus of complacency

Six warning signs and five solutions

The curse of incumbency

Stop your core competencies from blinding you to new opportunities

The threat of myopia

Widen your view of your competitors–and the dangers they pose

The obsession of volume

Get beyond “rising volumes and shrinking margins”

The territorial impulse

Break down the silos, factions, fiefdoms, and ivory towers

Preface xxi

Foreword    xxiii                                                                             

1          Why Do Good Companies Go Bad?   1                           

2          Denial: The Cocoon of Myth, Ritual, and Orthodoxy      19  

3          Arrogance: Pride before the Fall    45

4          Complacency: Success Breeds Failure    75                        

5          Competency Dependence: The Curse of Incumbency    105      

6          Competitive Myopia: A Nearsighted View of Competition    133

7          Volume Obsession: Rising Costs and Falling Margins    165    

8          The Territorial Impulse: Culture Conflicts and Turf Wars    199&nbsp...

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Management

300 pages, Paperback

First published March 20, 2007

Reviews

[Jonathan Douthit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great examples of different companies struggles, failures, and successes in many different sectors. My main complaint is that it was written in 2007 and is already a bit dated but other than that, I enjoyed reading about the inner workings of companies that are still prominent today.

[Wael Al-alwani · Rating 3 out of 5]

كتاب في التخطيط الاستراتيجي ويصل مرحلة التكتيكات لشركات كبيرة ارتكبت اخطاء معينة قام الكاتب بجمعها وتصنيفها تحت عدة عادات وصفها بأنها مدمرة ذاتيا. الكتاب مليء بالمعلومات القيمة، ولكنه أحيانا يسطح او يجتزيء من العوامل والظروف التي أدت لتدهور شركة ما لغرض وصف ما حصل معها تحت تصنيف من تصانيفه.

[Rishabh Gupta · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Book brings about nothing new in terms of the knowledge it imparts but what it manages rather brilliantly is to remind people of the common sense business knowledge. Better still, he goes ahead and gives certain tell tale signs which prop up like mushrooms everywhere when the common sense becomes uncommon in an organization(and it happens very often).

The another engrossing factor about this otherwise average book is the numerous examples that author has qouted generously. Though this stories make you go through the entire book (without them, its a one pager gyaan converted into a 200 page book).

Overall, an average book with excellent examples (IBM, GM, Sony, Sears, Indian Airlines etc.), in fact examples so interesting that they become the sole reason for reading this book and the essense gets lost somehwere.

Anyway, Read it but don't expect much.

P.S: For Corp Execs, Please just read the tell tale signs at end of every chapter (the essence of the book)

[Niraj · Rating 5 out of 5]

One can clearly say after reading the book that



its really hard to get up once u fall down.....



one cannot say what exactly took a major company down was it the short - sightedness or plain ignorance.

but one thing is for sure in some cases there have been dramatic turn - arounds , and it is also remarkable that once some great giants of the industry are no longer in existance today. It really is shocking to know that many companies brought doom upon them selves.

it is clearly seen in the book that carelessness was a major cause of failure,.

jagdish n seth has really done a lot of ground work because compiling such a lot of information on the titans of the industry, not restricting to just one industry but all the sectors and encompassing the globe. it is trully remarkable piece of work. really aplaudable,

[Gypsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Self-Destructive Habits outlined in this book may not be anything new to external observers, but how to spot these habits while you're IN the company & especially how to break them made this book worthwhile. Safe to say that once a company is on a downward spiral it's hard to pull out of it, not impossible but the ample examples in the book should inspire business owners to constantly perform self-checks to see which way they're headed.
Certain parts of the book read a bit repetitive & slightly disorganized, but if the repetitions were there for emphasis & aids readers’ memory then it did its job. Overall a very useful read!

[Leader Summaries · Rating 5 out of 5]

Desde Leader Summaries recomendamos la lectura del libro Los 7 hábitos autodestructivos de las grandes empresas, de Jagdish N. Sheth.
Las personas interesadas en las siguientes temáticas lo encontrarán práctico y útil: liderazgo, anticiparse a los problemas.
En el siguiente enlace tienes el resumen del libro Los 7 hábitos autodestructivos de las grandes empresas, Por qué algunas empresas arruinan su futuro y cómo evitarlo: Los 7 hábitos autodestructivos de las grandes empresas