Page 67 - The Resilient Organization

54 Part Two: Step 1. Managing the Consequences of Past Performance

I believe the outlier condition—that is, high success—is not something
easily repeated with a formula that once worked well. For example, once
Microsoft became dominant in PC software, it was decidedly more difficult
for other software companies to do the same, as the market players had
learned their surprise lesson. An entirely new “business model,” open
source software—with its very different style of voluntary organizing,
problem-solving motives, and peer values—had instead gained dominance.
This is not to say that success does not include organizational charac-
teristics that can be generalized. It is simply to point out that most of
these exalted but idiosyncratic characteristics are already known; they’re
just very hard to replicate on the strength of that knowledge. In other
words, knowing the principles of greatness is not very likely to make you
great (beyond hard work and luck, perhaps the only two enduring lessons
of the past). You will have to discover your own. As the Finnish song-
writer Juice Leskinen once sang: “It is the misfortune of followers to
make dogma out of the wisdom of their leaders.” (Religious and other
extremists, take note!)
Some of these generic wisdoms are full of contradiction. Arrogance, for
example, is well known as an enemy to continued success, and thus it is a
rather bad host if it gains the upper hand in a person or organization. Yet
arrogance often also connotes the unfettered ambition and uncompromis-
ing spirit needed for extraordinary success. This kind of demanding attitude
may actually describe successful entrepreneurs such as Apple’s Steve Jobs,
who is known for his perfectionist nature (as defined by his standards of
“insanely great” products). Intel’s Andy Grove was known for his impa-
tience with getting results (or answers to his questions). In my own experi-
ence, you have about five minutes to come up with a relevant argument
when talking to most CEOs—after that, you’re out.
If you manage to resolve the dilemma that a group of researchers from
AT&T’s famed Bell Labs once called “humbition”—being humble but hav-
ing great ambition at the same time—there are a number of good enough,
if mundane, ideas for improvement out there. (“Eat your own dog food”
was the Silicon Valley mantra for using the company’s own products and
services to make sure to know what they are like and thus putting oneself
in the customer’s position.) The problem is that the humbleness tends to
wear out quickly and give way to complacency. Success, then, comes with
the almost irresistible feeling of entitlement, formula-perpetuating routines,