Why Your Business's Success Sucks

Sure, you just recorded record earnings and profits. You also won coveted customer service awards, achieved your highest employee satisfaction scores, or even received media coverage for your unique and successful business model. But, don't think you're "there". You're never "there". Companies that think they're "there" most always rest on their laurels. And, if they don't adapt for constantly changing market conditions, their past successes won't mean squat. Kodak rested on their heals. And Gateway. And Krispy Kreme. So did Dell, surprisingly enough. When you get too stuck on your past successes, those successes will blind you from adapting to your customers' needs. Says London Business School's Donald Sull:

When successful companies face big changes in their environment, they often fail to respond effectively. Unable to defend themselves against competitors armed with new products, technologies, or strategies, they watch their sales and profits erode, their best people leave, and their stock valuations tumble. Some ultimately manage to recover -- usually after painful rounds of downsizing and restructuring -- but many don't.

The key then is to improve, constantly. Constantly. Constantly. (Constantly.)

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