There are many ways a company’s
long-term strategy can fail.
The problem may be execution. Or
perhaps continually shifting the plan aka moving the goal posts (*cough* … Hewlett-Packard). Another common downfall is expanding too fast (*cough* … Toyota). Sometimes companies fall victim to their own
success, deluding themselves into believing they can thrive in areas in which
they aren’t suited to succeed (*cough* … Bank of
America buying Countrywide)
or emerging areas they simply don’t understand (*cough* … AIG
insuring mortgage-backed securities). Or
companies can fail via the inverse: resting on their laurels and failing to
change as the world around the does (*cough* … Blockbuster).
In short, there are eight millions
ways to die.
There may only be one, however, that
predestines a company to fail: starting with a flawed plan. Or, to play on the
cliché: failing to plan may be planning to fail — but planning poorly might be
just as bad.
To that end, Forbes has compiled a “top ten
ways strategic plans fail.” Head
over there for the full list but these are the five I consider to be the most
insightful lessons
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