Seduced by Success: How the Best Companies Survive the 9 Traps of Winning

  • 5h 5m
  • Robert J. Herbold
  • McGraw-Hill
  • 2007

Don't let success put your company on the road to ruin

In Seduced by Success, Robert J. Herbold, the former Chief Operating Officer of Microsoft, shows you how to avoid the nine traps of success-the “legacy practices” that almost felled such giants as General Motors, Kodak and Sony. Herbold, a 26-year-veteran of Procter & Gamble who lived through each trap, gives you proven tactics for preventing arrogance, bloat, and neglect while capitalizing on your accomplishments, sustaining your momentum, and retaining your position in the marketplace.

The nine traps every successful organization must avoid are

  • Neglect: Sticking with Yesterday's Business Model
  • Pride: Allowing Your Products to Become Outdated
  • Boredom: Clinging to Your Once-Successful Branding
  • Complexity: Ignoring Your Business Processes
  • Bloat: Rationalizing Your Loss of Speed and Agility
  • Mediocrity: Letting Your Star Employees Languish
  • Lethargy: Getting Lulled into a Culture of Comfort
  • Timidity: Not Confronting Turf Wars and Obstructionists
  • Confusion: Unwittingly Conducting Schizophrenic Communications

These mistakes cut your business legs off at the knees, destroying your ability to recognize and meet the need for change. Herbold shows you how to avoid these landmines by

  • Continually revitalizing your brands and products
  • Demanding new approaches to “proven” practices
  • Maintaining speed and agility through strong leadership
  • Making sure employees are empowered to achieve and not handicapped by bureaucracy
  • Using an exciting new product to overhaul your culture

For each success trap, Herbold provides illuminating examples of top companies that were seduced by their success-as well as others that managed to maintain and even broaden their achievements. Seduced by Success is the best way to ensure your company sustains its success for the long term.

About the Author

Robert J. Herbold is the former executive vice president and chief operating officer of Microsoft Corporation. Prior to that, he was with Procter & Gamble Company for 26 years. Herbold is the managing director of Herbold Group, LLC, a consulting firm, and is a sought-after guest speaker.

In this Book

  • Seduced By Success—How the Best Companies Survive the 9 Traps of Winning
  • The Issue—Success is a Serious Business Vulnerability
  • A Classic Example: General Motors
  • Why Does This Happen?
  • Legacy Thinking and Behavior Can Be Avoided: Toyota
  • Beware of the Nine Success-Induced Traps
  • Face Reality, Then Aggressively Tackle Your Vulnerabilities
  • Reapply What Works
  • Uniqueness: An Absolute Essential
  • Make Well-Analyzed Big Bets
  • Continually Revitalize Your Core Products and Capitalize on Inflection Points
  • Be Clear and Concise, but Most of All be Distinctive
  • Focus Relentlessly on Details and Execution
  • Stay Relevant
  • Don’t Wait for the Crisis
  • Demand New Approaches to “Proven” Processes
  • Are You Paralyzed By Your Current Business Practices?
  • Assign Top Talent to the Tough Issues and Get Out of their Way
  • The Key to Speed and Agility is Leadership
  • Set the Bar High in Selecting People and Setting Expectations
  • Don’t Be Afraid of Bringing in Fresh Talent
  • The Broader the Experience, the Better
  • Clarity, Simplicity, and Repetition Are Essential
  • Get a Product Edge and Use it to Overhaul the Culture
  • Avoid the Curse of an Internal Focus
  • Break up Fiefdoms and Launch Your Plan
  • Assemble a Team You Believe in
  • Beware of Vague Accountability and Isolationists
  • Where Are We Going and How are We Doing?
  • Make Expectations Crystal Clear
  • Resting on Your Laurels is Never an Option!
  • Notes
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