[.ca] The Self-Destructive Habits of Good Companies: ...And ... (ISBN 0131791133)

How to keep an organization out of the ER:
In Firms of Endearment, Jagdish N. Sheth and co-authors Rajendra S. Sisodia and David B. Wolfe explain how world-class companies profit from passion and purpose. The focus is on sustainable good habits. In this volume, Sheth takes a different approach in response to the question "Why do good companies go bad?" The focus is on habits that are counter-productive, in some instances self-destructive. Because habits (both good and bad) are learned behaviors, not inevitabilities, it is possible to acquire them or eliminate them. Sheth correctly stresses the importance to any organization of having leadership at all levels and in all areas. Without it, it is impossible to avoid, recognize, or overcome one or more of the seven "destructive habits" that Sheth identifies and then discusses. Readers will appreciate the format Sheth has selected which includes two sections within each chapter: "The Warning Signs of \oX\c" and "How to Break the Habit of \oX\c."He devotes a separate chapter to each of the seven. Then at the end of each chapter, he summarizes key points in greater detail than do most other authors of business books. These three devices facilitate, indeed expedite review of key points later. Throughout the narrative, Sheth examines a number of exemplary companies such as Digital, IBM, Intel, Xerox, A & P, General Motors, Merck, Motorola, and Singer Sewing Machines. In the final chapter, "The Best Cure Is No Cure at all," Sheth correctly notes that breaking bad habits begins with an awareness of them. He advocates what he characterizes as "anticipatory management" (as opposed to "status-quo management") that, if effective, avoids the need for a "cure," hence the relevance of the chapter's title. Sheth invokes an extended analogy to make several important points. "As in human health, corporate health is better served if self-destructive habits never have a chance to get a foothold. Just as with humans, if the self-destructive habit forms, it may be too addictive to stop. Or it may be allowed to go on until irreversible damage occurs. Or the cure may be so invasive that the company suffers additional negative consequences or never recovers. And the cure may be expensive and require lifelong maintenance. It would be much better, as we know from human health care, to encourage wellness instead of treating illness." In reality, of course, most organizations suffer from "organizational illness" in one form or another at one time or another. (Consider developments -- both positive and negative -- at General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler since the end of World War Two.) For various reasons, some companies survive while others do not. Those who read this book probably have ideas of their own as to how to avoid or break each of the seven self-destructive habits. More to the point, each reader has a clearer understanding than Sheth possibly could how her or his own organization can -- and should -- avoid or break a habit such as denial, "The cocoon of myth, ritual, and orthodoxy" or as James O'Toole characterizes it, "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom." With humans as with organizations, the worst habits are the most difficult to break precisely because they are appealing (i.e. tempting), addictive, and self-sustaining. Those who absorb and digest the material in this book with appropriate care will be much better prepared to help their organization avoid or break its bad habits but, as Sheth would be the first to point out, it will probably be at least as difficult (if not more difficult) to institutionalize "preventive medicine" as it will be to "cure" a pattern of behavior or specific ailment. Sometimes, only a severe crisis can get people's attention and, regrettably, it may then be too late.