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To me, one of the most interesting paradigm shifts involves a paradox: at a time when change is the only constant, precisely the same elements which result in a given company's success can often be the causes of its subsequent decline. That seems to be the core concept in this book in which Robert J. Herbold explains "how the best companies survive the 9 traps of winning." Conversely, many other of the best companies (however "best" may be defined) do not. The traps that Herbold identifies and examines are among the usual suspects whenever a company goes (invoking Jim Collins' terms) "from great to good" or "from good to mediocre":
1. Sticking with yesterday's business model
2. Allowing your products [or services] to become outdated
3. Clinging to your once-successful branding after it becomes stale and dull
4. Ignoring your business processes as they become cumbersome ands complicated
5. Rationalizing your loss of speed and agility
6. Condoning poor performance and letting your star employees languish
7. Getting lulled into a culture of comfort, casualness, and confidence
8. Not confronting turf wars, infighting, and obstructionists
9. Unwittingly providing schizophrenic communications
Of course, falling into and then remaining in any one of these "traps" can have serious, perhaps even fatal consequences. Moreover, failing companies are usually caught in several (if not most) of the nine. Finally, even if a given company escapes from one or more of them, there is no guarantee that it will not falling into one or more later. Hence a variation on the aforementioned paradox: Precisely the same elements which enable a given company to survive or to go "from mediocre to good" can often be the causes of its decline again.
Although all of the companies that Herbold discusses are major corporations (e.g. General Motors, Toyota, IBM, Sony, Wal-Mart and Microsoft), all organizations (including non-profits) can fall into one or more of the nine traps. Brilliantly, Herbold explains how to survive them or avoid them by understanding how others have survived them. To his credit, Herbold spends far less time on the "what" than he does on the "how" and "why" of doing so. Each of his key insights is anchored within a real-world context. For example:
How Toyota avoided "legacy" thinking and behavior
How IBM "tackles its vulnerabilities"
How Wal-Mart uses reapplication effectively
How Microsoft makes "well-analyzed big bets"
How Procter & Gamble stays relevant
How at Hewlett-Packard, "the key to speed and agility is leadership"
It remains for each reader to absorb and digest the material in this book, conduct a rigorous and thorough evaluation of her is his company's major vulnerabilities, select strategies and tactics from among those Herbold recommends, and then with appropriate modification, apply them to the specific needs of the given company.
In Chapter 29, Herbold concludes his narrative by examining the Apple culture within which "resting on your laurels is never an option!" Over the years, Apple has faced the same challenge which other highly successful companies have: How to prevent success from breeding a culture of lack of urgency, satisfaction, excessive pride, a and a protective attitude toward the way things have been done in the past. This is precisely what James O'Toole has in mind when referring to "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom." Herbold offers two guidelines when challenging the status quo: When you are a winner, be as aggressive as you were when you were lagging behind. Also, develop a culture that constantly questions all practices at all times. To sum up, there can be no continuous improvement, much less continuous and sustainable success, without relentless skepticism.
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Don't let success put your company on the road to ruin
In Seduced by Success, Robert J. Herbold, the former Chief Operating Officer of Microsoft, shows you how to avoid the nine traps of success-the "legacy practices” that almost felled such giants as General Motors, Kodak and Sony. Herbold, a 26-year-veteran of Procter & Gamble who lived through each trap, gives you proven tactics for preventing arrogance, bloat, and neglect while capitalizing on your accomplishments, sustaining your momentum, and retaining your position in the marketplace.
The nine traps every successful organization must avoid are
Neglect: Sticking with Yesterday's Business Model
Pride: Allowing Your Products to Become Outdated
Boredom: Clinging to Your Once-Successful Branding
Complexity: Ignoring Your Business Processes
Bloat: Rationalizing Your Loss of Speed and Agility
Mediocrity: Letting Your Star Employees Languish
Lethargy: Getting Lulled into a Culture of Comfort
Timidity: Not Confronting Turf Wars and Obstructionists
Confusion: Unwittingly Conducting Schizophrenic Communications
These mistakes cut your business legs off at the knees, destroying your ability to recognize and meet the need for change. Herbold shows you how to avoid these landmines by
Continually revitalizing your brands and products
Demanding new approaches to "proven” practices
Maintaining speed and agility through strong leadership
Making sure employees are empowered to achieve and not handicapped by bureaucracy
Using an exciting new product to overhaul your culture
For each success trap, Herbold provides illuminating examples of top companies that were seduced by their success-as well as others that managed to maintain and even broaden their achievements. Seduced by Success is the best way to ensure your company sustains its success for the long term.
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