Page 69 - The Resilient Organization

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

DANGERS AND SEDUCTIONS OF SUCCESS

Mental or Cognitive
1. Hubris (ungrounded and unrealistic can-do attitude)
2. Narcissism (an excessive hunger for power and fame for their own
sake, Kets de Vries, 2003)
3. Arrogance (not listening to others, not being open to others’ opin-
ions)
4. Feeling of entitlement (of being uniquely deserving without corre-
sponding cause or merit)
5. Complacency (the numbing of senses, the lack of motivation to con-
tinue to excel or prove oneself)
6. Inattention (paying less and less attention to issues that do not fit
the current operations and/or strategy or agenda)
Behavioral
1. Overdoing what one does best (exploitation); neglecting what one
could do eventually well (exploration)
2. Scaling up a once successful formula to its absurdity (or to the point
where entirely new, perhaps systemic, risks are created)
3. Being solely focused on an activity that is losing market relevance or
is about to be “disrupted” (technologically or through a different
business model)
4. Replicating success to the point where all diversity of the system dis-
appears (for example, hiring people who all have exactly the same
educational background or mindset)
Political
1. Power coalitions and dependencies (for example, entrenched and
vested interests)
2. No free resources (all existing resources already committed and
invested in existing businesses with in-company leadership)
3. No perceivably better business opportunities (at least in the short
term; all alternative opportunities yield less than the current busi-
nesses); lack of political will to invest
4. The target to beat (competitors unite against the dominant one)
5. The one to blame (“Public Enemy Number 1”)