Seduced by Success: How the Best Companies Survive the 9 Traps of Winning
Robert J. Herbold





Format: Hardcover, 288pp.
ISBN: 9780071481830
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Pub. Date: March 9, 2007

Average Customer Review:


For Bulk Orders Call: 626-441-2024


Description and Reviews
From The Publisher:


Success can be a serious business vulnerability! General Motors, IBM, Kodak, Rubbermaid-these are just a few examples of top companies that became complacent and bloated. To sustain their success, they should have been uncovering fresh approaches, improving their products and services, and staying lean and agile.

In Seduced by Success, Robert Herbold shows you and your company how to become successful and stay that way by avoiding the nine biggest success traps. The book features multiple examples of successful companies that succumbed to problems as well as examples of companies that overcame them. This provocative, thought-leading guide explains why “defending yesterday” is a prescription for failure. You'll learn how and why both you and your organization must constantly experiment with new ideas, processes, and business models to remain relevant.

The Nine Traps Every Successful Organization Must Avoid:

Neglect: Sticking with yesterday's business model
Pride: Letting products and services become second rate
Boredom: Clinging to your once successful branding
Complexity: Letting processes run the business
Bloat: Losing agility
Mediocrity: Allowing subpar performance to persist
Lethargy: Nurturing a retirement home culture
Timidity: Permitting turf battles and infighting
Vagueness: Schizophrenic communication


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.


Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	vii
	The Issue: Success is a Serious Business Vulnerability
	A Classic Example: General Motors	7
	Why Does this Happen?	15
	Legacy Thinking and Behavior can be Avoided: Toyota	21
	Beware of the Nine Success-Induced Traps	29
	Trap # 1 Neglect: Sticking with Yesterday's Business Model
	Face Reality, then Aggressively Tackle Your Vulnerabilities: IBM, eBay, Agilent Technologies, Sony	43
	Reapply What Works: Fidelity Investments, Nucor, Wal-Mart, Toyota	55
	Trap # 2 Pride: Allowing Your Products to Become Outdated
	Uniqueness: An Absolute Essential: Chrysler	69
	Make Well-Analyzed Big Bets: Verizon, Microsoft	77
	Continually Revitalize Your Core Products and Capitalize on Inflection Points: Texas Instruments, Toyota, EnCana	86
	Trap # 3 Boredom: Clinging to Your Once-Successful Branding After it Becomes Stale and Dull
	Be Clear and Concise, but Most of All be Distinctive: Procter & Gamble, McDonald's, Harley-Davidson	101
	Focus Relentlessly on Details and Execution: Starbucks	109
	Stay Relevant: Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble	115
	Trap # 4 Complexity: Ignoring Your Business Processes as They Become Cumbersome and Complicated
	Don't Wait for the Crisis: Schneider National, Bank One	128
	Demand New Approaches to "Proven" Processes: Procter &Gamble, Samsung, Dell	137
	Trap # 5 Bloat: Rationalizing Your Loss of Speed and Agility
	Are You Paralyzed by Your Current Business Practices?: Kodak, Citigroup	153
	Assign Top Talent to the Tough Issues and Get Out of Their Way: Procter & Gamble, Microsoft, Nike	162
	The Key to Speed and Agility is Leadership: Hewlett-Packard, Intel	171
	Trap # 6 Mediocrity: Condoning Poor Performance and Letting Your Star Employees Languish
	Set the Bar High in Selecting People and Setting Expectations: Coca-Cola, Microsoft	184
	Don't be Afraid of Bringing in Fresh Talent: Microsoft, Harrah's Entertainment	195
	The Broader the Experience, the Better: eBay, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble	203
	Trap # 7 Lethargy: Getting Lulled Into a Culture of Comfort, Casualness, and Confidence
	Clarity, Simplicity, and Repetition are Essential: Southwest Airlines, General Electric	215
	Get a Product Edge and Use it to Overhaul the Culture: Motorola	227
	Avoid the Curse of an Internal Focus: Boeing	237
	Trap # 8 Timidity: Not Confronting Turf Wars, Infighting, and Obstructionists
	Break Up Fiefdoms and Launch Your Plan: Sony, Morgan Stanley	248
	Assemble a Team You Believe In: Porsche	258
	Beware of Vague Accountability and Isolationists: Unilever, Hewlett-Packard	265
	Trap # 9 Confusion: Unwittingly Providing Schizophrenic Communications
	Where are We Going and How are We Doing?: IBM, Wal-Mart	280
	Make Expectations Crystal Clear: Gillette	290
	The Key to Continual Success: A Questioning Attitude
	Resting on Your Laurels is Never an Option!: Apple	305
	Notes	313
	Index	321

Customer Reviews
Write your own online review.

Case study November 24 2010
Reviewer: Mustafa A. Bootwala from India
I am a student of a B School and read your book seduced by success for my project related to High Performance Leadership, it was adventurous ride in which i got so much knowledge that how we can get seduced by our success. Thank you much for such a great book .


Find Items On Similar Subjects

The Halo Effect ... and the Eight Other Business Delusions That Deceive Managers

The Essential Lists
BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU LEAD


Grow Your Leadership Skills
NEW AND UPCOMING LEADERSHIP BOOKS


Classic Leadership Books
BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU LEAD