Adverse new circumstances are almost universally viewed as being very temporary by those with the authority and opportunity to do something about adapting to the irresistible forces involved. A revealing example of this psychology at work occurred in the U.S. savings and loan industry during the 1980s.
At that time, the country was wracked by a very high rate of inflation and a...
"Only the mediocre are always at their best."
--Jean Giradoux
Enterprises often unwittingly encourage their people only to be seen by others as successful. When problems arise, then, this desire can lead to a tendency to downplay the seriousness of the problems or even to cover them up.
"To err is human, to forgive divine" is a maxim that the irresistible force enterprise could rewrite...
How can you create an advantageous mix of optimism and pessimism in order to bring out important perspectives about irresistible forces?
Perhaps the best way to achieve this mix is to ensure that key teams in the organization always reflect a diversity of thought about irresistible forces. Any time that you find a quick and easy consensus forming, you should be skeptical that you are on...
Organizations have patterns of optimism and pessimism that can be used as indicators in helping to understand what is going on. Corporate controllers have known this for years, and some will secretly keep records of the accuracy and inaccuracy of the forecasts they receive from different people in the enterprise.
New forecasts are then adjusted to reflect these historic patterns by...
Dr. Johji Satoh was a studious boy while growing up in Japan, but he took some time to enjoy table tennis. In Japan preparing for college is taken very seriously, and there is little time for play. Table tennis is a good choice for relaxation because you can compress a lot of activity chasing a ball into a short amount of time and smashing a table-tennis ball can be very satisfying after a long...
Many companies ignore or underestimate important irresistible forces, treating them as if they are gentle breezes rather than raging hurricanes that can tear the organization apart. A good way to overcome this sort of misunderstanding and overoptimism about the circumstances is to constantly focus attention on identifying what the most important irresistible forces are. In fact, those who use...
Whether or not they shop there, many people admire the success that Wal-Mart has enjoyed in the retailing industry. For many decades the company has grown its number of stores, the sales per store, and the efficiency of its operations at an impressive rate to become the world's largest retailer.
Throughout the time that founder Sam Walton was CEO, much attention was focused on the...
In a genetic engineering company that develops pharmaceutical products, the company's founders and scientists developed disdain for the views and processes of the Federal Government's Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The company knew (correctly) that the regulators at FDA were much less capable and knowledgeable than they should have been in genetic engineering.
Whenever the FDA raised...
Put the average company into a high-growth situation (for its industry) for the first time, and you'll soon see overoptimism sprouting everywhere. In the aftermath of the Arab oil embargo and the subsequent rise in the cost of energy, Americans began using all sorts of new ways to reduce their energy use and costs.
One idea for heating your home was to cut your own wood to burn in wood...
As currency volatility increased in the late 1990s, Molex (an electrical component manufacturer) had reason to be concerned. On the other hand, the company was proud of its "can-do" heritage of growing faster and with better financial ratios than the bulk of its worldwide competitors.
Unfortunately, Molex produced more than 40 percent of its annual income from selling products in the very...
