Self-Destructive Habits in India
8:04 AM PDT, August 13, 2007
I returned last week from a trip to India where I had the opportunity to participate in several interesting forums on leadership and management. In discussing some of the key points in my book, The Self-Destructive Habits of Good Companies... And How to Break Them, I noticed a few persistent questions:
In answer to the first two questions, yes, any large organization is at risk to fall into the pattern of bad habits. As I highlight in my book, these habits follow naturally from early successes. As for the last question about what leaders can do, I would emphasize two important strategies:
You will find more specific guidance on the warning signs of bad habits and remedies for breaking them in my book. I would also like to hear your examples and ideas about the self-destructive habits of good Indian companies and leadership.
Territorial Impulse
7:03 AM PDT, July 30, 2007, updated at 11:45 AM PDT, August 7, 2007
This post marks the last in this seven part series on The Self-Destructive Habits of Good Companies... And How to Break Them. The last bad habit I discuss in my book is "The Territorial Impulse: Culture Conflicts and Turf Wars." This habit is a result of divisiveness or factionalism in a growing organization.
The warning signs of the territorial impulse:
As with each post in this series, I welcome your ideas and examples of company's struggling with the territorial impulse. Volume Obsession
7:35 AM PDT, July 16, 2007
We are nearing the end of this seven part series on the Self-Destructive Habits of Good Companies... And How to Break Them. This week's focus is Volume Obsession: Rising Costs and Falling Margins.
As with most of the habits discussed in my book, this habit is often a consequence of success. What are the warning signs that a company's cost-structure is getting out of whack?
As with each of the habits discussed in this series, I invite your comments and examples of companies you see struggling with the bad habit of volume obsession.
Competitive Myopia
6:17 AM PDT, July 12, 2007
For today's post in this seven part series on The Self-Destructive Habits of Good Companies... and How to Break Them, my focus will be Competitive Myopia. A company is struggling with this nearsighted vision when they define competition too narrowly by only acknowledging the competitors that are direct and immediate challenges. The most obvious example of this was the fierce competition between GM, Ford & Chrysler while Japan invaded and conquered the market. In Ch. 6 of my book, I offer several suggestions for breaking this habit. Here are a few:
There are many examples of companies that may need corrective lenses to strengthen their vision. Please share your thoughts and examples here.
Competency Dependence
5:36 AM PDT, July 5, 2007, updated at 8:13 AM PDT, July 9, 2007
Competency dependence is the topic of this week's entry in this seven part series on The Self-Destructive Habits of Good Companies... And How to Break Them. What do you do when your core competency has become obsolete or noncompetitive? When you are the iconic symbol of a certain product or service, how can you change when the market for your specialty declines? In Chapter 5, Competency Dependence: The Curse of Incumbency, I provide analysis of what leads to competency dependence:
This chapter also covers important warning signs and solutions. In today's fast-paced world of innovations and fickle markets, companies can't afford to put all their eggs in one basket. Which companies do you think are best avoiding the habit of competency dependence?
Complacency
9:03 AM PDT, June 28, 2007
As the third focus in this seven part series on The Self-Destructive Habits of Good Companies... And How to Break Them, Complacency is the natural result of the two habits previously discussed, denial and arrogance. An organization becomes complacent by resting on its laurels and expecting nothing to change. In Ch. 4 of my book, I describe the three pillars of complacency:
How can a company break the complacency habit?
This is just a glimpse at the remedies described in my book. You'll find a fuller discussion of ways to break this habit in Chapters 4 & 9. I'd also like to hear your thoughts, so please send your examples of companies that seem to be complacent and your ideas about how they can break the habit.
Arrogance
7:45 AM PDT, June 18, 2007, updated at 8:12 AM PDT, July 9, 2007
We're all familiar with arrogance in people who have an inflated sense of self-importance, and this "tragic flaw" is easily found in organizations also. Often, the roots of arrogance in corporations are grounded in past exceptional achievements. The problem arises when organizations are so bedazzled by their own shining successes that they lose sight of new and emerging market realities. Some of the warning signs of arrogance highlighted in Ch. 3 of my book are:
Please share examples of companies you see displaying signs of arrogance.
Denial
7:59 AM PDT, June 11, 2007
This post marks the first of a seven part series where I will open up discussion of each of the habits featured in The Self-Destructive Habits of Good Companies... and How to Break Them. In this week's post, the focus is Denial. In Ch. 2, "Denial: The Cocoon of Myth, Ritual & Orthodoxy," I offer several examples of companies who have fallen into the habit of believing too strongly in their own greatness. They often fail to remember the happy accidents of fortune that have smoothed their path to success. For example, Daimler-Benz (now Daimler-Chrysler) rose to market power with the help of a car accident involving Adolf Hitler, who, emerging safely, made the car the official military and state vehicle of Germany. As in this case, the winds of fate often fill the sails of success for companies, and a problem arises when leaders in the company fail to acknowledge the role of fate and fortune and inflate their own roles. Daimler's struggle to maintain success continues. They recently let go of Chrysler after, as Dr. Zetshe admits, "over-estimat[ing] the potential of synergies." This type of denial may lead companies to ignore the demand for keeping up-to-date with new trends such as emerging technologies, changing consumer tastes, & the new global realities of the green movement or global warming. Traditional powerhouses and emerging giants appear in the news each day having succeeded partly with the help of fate and fortune. Which of these companies are denying new realities of the marketplace and falling behind?
7 Habits in 7 Weeks
9:14 AM PDT, June 5, 2007
Starting next week, June 11th, I will blog highlights and current events related to the Self-Destructive Habits of Good Companies... and How to Break Them. Each week, I will focus on one of the seven habits discussed in my book:
Please stop by to join the conversation and add your thoughts, examples and questions.
Focus on Emerging Markets
7:27 AM PDT, May 21, 2007
As I mentioned in my last post, General Electric has struggled in the past from competitive myopia, one of The Self-Destructive Habits of Good Companies. Last week I had the chance to hear Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE, speak about GE's performance and his views on the global economy and leadership.
In his discussion, Immelt emphasized GE's highly-focused strategy in narrowing from 12 to 6 divisions and in targeting the fast-growing markets in China & India. Several years ago, some colleagues of mine and I recognized this growing imperative for global organizations to tap into the Chinese and Indian markets. We founded the India, China & America Institute to provide industry focused research, education and strategy recommendations on the market impact of the rise of China & India. To learn more about this non-profit, non-governmental resource visit www.icainstitute.org. What are your questions about tapping into these growing markets?
|
Bio
Dr. Jagdish (Jag) N. Sheth is the Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing in the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. Prior to his present position, he was at the University of Southern California (7 years); at the University of Illinois (15 years), and on the faculty of Columbia University (5 years), as well as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2 years). Dr. Sheth is well known for his scholarly contributions in consumer behavior, relationship marketing, competitive strategy and geopolitical analysis.
Professor Sheth is highly sought out as a keynote speaker at many industry, academic and public forums. He has worked for numerous industries and companies in the United States, Europe and Asia, both as an Advisor and as a Seminar Leader. His clients include AT&T, BellSouth, Cox Communications, Delta, Ernst & Young, Ford, GE, Lucent Technologies, Motorola, Nortel, Pillsbury, Sprint, Square D, 3M, Whirlpool, Wipro and many more. He has offered hundreds of presentations in at least twenty countries. Dr. Sheth is frequently quoted and interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Fortune, Financial Times, Economic Times and radio shows and television networks such as CNN, CNBC (India) and BBC. He is also on the Board of Directors of several public companies including Cryo Cell International (NASDAQ), Wipro Limited (NYSE) and Shasun Chemicals. In 1989, Dr. Sheth was given the Outstanding Marketing Educator award by the Academy of Marketing Science. In 1991 and again in 1999, he was given the Outstanding Educator Award by the Sales and Marketing Executives International (SMEI). Dr. Sheth was also awarded the P.D. Converse Award for his outstanding contributions to theory in marketing in 1992 by the American Marketing Association. In 1996, Dr. Sheth was selected as the Distinguished Fellow of the Academy of Marketing Science. In 1997, Dr. Sheth was awarded the Distinguished Fellow award from the International Engineering Consortium. Dr. Sheth is also a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA). 2004 marked a stellar year for Dr. Sheth as he was awarded both the Richard D. Irwin Distinguished Marketing Educator and the Charles Coolidge Parlin Awards which are the two highest awards given by the American Marketing Association. In 2006, Dr. Sheth was awarded the RHR International Award for Outstanding Consultant by the American Psychological Association (APA) Division 13 (Consulting Psychology) and the Elsivier Distinguished Educator Award by Strategic Marketing Association. A prolific author, in 2000 Dr. Sheth and Andrew Sobel published a best seller, Clients for Life (Simon & Schuster). His book, The Rule of Three (Free Press), coauthored with Dr. Rajendra Sisodia, altered the current notions on competition in business. It was published in 2002 and has been translated into German, Italian, Polish Japanese and Chinese. It was the subject of a seven part television series by CNBC (India) and was a finalist for the 2004 Best Marketing Book Award from the American Marketing Association. His most recent book, Tectonic Shift: The Geoeconomic Realignment of Globalizing Markets was published in 2006 by Sage (India). His latest book, The Self-Destructive Habits of Good Companies:…and How to Break Them, will be published in May 2007 by Wharton School Publishing.
Scaled by popularity
Topics
Books
Entertainment
Film
Food & Cooking
Home and Family
Insider
Music
Technology
Video Games
|
|
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
