The Blessing of Pending Doom

by Anthony Demangone

All companies do well.  Until they don’t. 

Most companies form around an idea.  That idea solves a problem. And people will pay for that idea.

But time marches on, and problems morph.  That original idea slowly becomes less valuable.  And so does the company.

But this rarely happens overnight.  It is a slow, gradual deterioration.

Usually, companies respond to sagging sales by tightening their belt.  The work harder.  Faster.  All the while, the ground under their very feet is growing less stable.  Their idea is fading.

I’ve seen it over and over.  Companies refuse to change, until they see the hangman’s noose.

Once the noose is in sight, change agents spring to life.  Pending doom makes strategic decisions simple.  Change, or go away.  Issues that once paralyzed an organization are swept away in a desire to stay in business.

If you want to see this idea in cinematic form, watch this YouTube clip.   Danny DeVito plays a character who wants to liquidate a company.  He stands before a hostile shareholder’s meeting, and tells them the cold, hard truth.

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