1、BustingleadershipmythsinanuncertainwldChallengefourdestructivemyths—onhowtosetstrategydealwithfailurebuildconsensusmakedecisions—tobeabetterleader.LEADERSHIPCONSULTINGPRACTICEdisaster.Businesshistyislitteredwithfullspeed

2、aheadtypeswhoresolutelyrantheircompaniesagroundastheleadersoftheglobalindustrialcompanydescribedearlierareindangerofdoing.RememberWebvantheonlinegrocerOneofthelargeststartupsduringthedotcombubbleitburnedthroughcashatanal

3、armingrate—methan$800millioninlessthanthreeyears.1Evenwhenitbecameobviousthattheimpossiblythinmarginsongroceriescouldn’tsupptWebvan’sbusinessmodelthecompanyfgedaheadbuyingHomeGrocerwhichwasalsolosingmillionsofdollars.Ban

4、kruptcysoonfollowed.BycontrastflixCEOReedHastingsinthefaceofacustomerrevoltoverhisdecisiontodividethecompany’sDVDbymailserviceintoaseparatebusinessnamedQwiksterscrappedtheplaninlessthanamonth.Anunreasonablepersistenceoft

5、enoccursattheptfoliolevelaswell.TopmanagementincludingCEOsdivisionheadscan’tbringthemselvestopulltheplugontheirproductstheirmarketsthedealstheyhaveengineered—throwinggoodmoneyafterbaddespitewhatmightbebestftheenterprisea

6、sawhole.InfactaccdingtoresearchreptedrecentlyintheHarvardBusinessReview“8in10managerssaytheircompaniesfailtoexitdecliningbusinessestokillunsuccessfulinitiativesquicklyenough.”2Insteadoftryingtosustainadvantageunreasonabl

7、y—inamarketregionaproductalineofbusinessanacquisition—smartleadersmoveonbefedeclinesetsin.(BranchRickeythelegendaryBrooklynDodgersexecutivefamouslysaidthatitisbettertotradeaplayerayeartooearlyratherthanayeartoolate.)Meov

8、erinvestsoftenrewardpreemptivecrections.InfactoneoftheauthsofthisarticleRochParayrestudied10years’wthofannouncementsbymajcompaniesindicatingtheirintentiontokilladivisionalineofbusiness.Overthatspanthestockpricefsuchcompa

9、niesroseonaverage4%onthedayoftheannouncement.Myth#2:LeadersneedtomanageriskminimizefailureRiskisscarymistakesareembarrassing.Butintoday’swldthewinnersarelikelytobeleadersganizationsthatlearnfastfailfastincpatethelessonsl

10、earnedintothenextexperiment.Thefollowingcompaniesaredoingjustthat:?EngineersWithoutBders(EWB)anongovernmentalganizationthatwkswldwidetohelpdisadvantagedcommunitiespeoplethroughengineeringprojectsaccelerateslearningbypost

11、ingitsmistakesonlinefalltoseeincludingespeciallytheengineersatEWBganizationsinothercountries.?SurePayrollgoessofarastopresentanannual“BestNewMistake”award.Eachyearthepayrollservicescompanyawardscashprizesfthefailedefftst

12、hatledtothemostsignificantlearning.3?Googletakesthecounterintuitiveapproachofpriitizinglearningaptitudeoverwhatmightbeconsidered“safer”functionalexpertise1GregBensinger“Rebuildinghisty’sbiggestdotcombust”WallStreetJourna

13、lJanuary122015.2DonaldSullRebeccaHomkeslesSull“Whystrategyexecutionunravels—whattodoaboutit”HarvardBusinessReviewMarch2015hbr.g.3SueShellenbarger“Betterideasthroughfailure”WallStreetJournalSeptember272011.Heidrick&Strugg