W h y s o m e c o m p a n I e s m a k e t h e
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- C OM PARIS ON Sb bB u r roughs
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| W a r n er- Lambert Lurched back and forth, from consumer products to pharmaceuticals and healthcare, then back again, then both at the same time, then back to one, then back to the other. Each new CEO had anew vision, and new restructuring, stopping the momentum of his predecessor and starting the flywheel back in another direction. Tried to ignite breakthrough with bold acquisitions, but failed and took hundreds of millions in write-offs. In the end, after years of inconsistent programs, it lurched into the arms of Pfizer, ending its turbulent existence as an independent C OM PARIS ON Sb bB u r roughs During its rise, Burroughs' CEO, "a brilliant but abusive man" led a sweeping total reengineering. Cost cutting led to morale problems, which led to losing good people. Picked a weak successor. He failed and was replaced by a Appendix A 257 brilliant, brash, overly aggressive" CEO who set anew direction, blaming the prior generation. Another massive reorganization, 400 executives leave in one purge. Posters adorned the walls, touting new programs. The company restructured again. Got yet another CEO who tried yet another restructuring, another new direction. More decline, and then another C hr y s l er Five years of stellar performance, then decline back into crisis. "Like so many patients with a heart condition, we'd survived emergency surgery several years before only to revert to our old unhealthy lifestyle" wrote an insider. Diverted attention into Italian sports cars, corporate jet business, and defense. Revived in second turnaround in but eventually sold out to H arr is Rose with a CEO who had a Hedgehog Concept in his head, and who produced an initial flywheel effect. But he did not instill this concept into his executive team. Later, when he retired, executives replaced the Hedgehog Concept with a growth mantra. Harris lurched off into office automation, which proved to be a disaster, and then into a series of unrelated acquisitions. Fell into the "sell the sizzle, but never deliver the syndrome. The flywheel came to ab Hasbro Hasbro is the one comparison company that nearly got it all right. It built spectacular results by consistently pursuing the Hedgehog Concept of revitalizing classic toy brands, like GI. Joe. Unfortunately, the architect of the initial transformation died unexpectedly at a young successor appeared to be more a Level 3 competent manager) than a Level 5 leader. The flywheel slowed. The CEO reacted with restructuring and eventually hired an outsider to rebuild R u b berm aid If there ever was a company that skipped the buildup stage, it's Rubbermaid. Its transition CEO launched "a complete restructuring of the company, a very dramatic and traumatic undertaking" Growth became the mantra, growth even at the expense of long-term momentum in the flywheel. When the CEO retired, it became clear that he was the primary force in the flywheel, not a strong team guided by a systematic Hedgehog Concept. The flywheel slowed the company succumbed to restructuring disease and selling the future without delivering results. Rubbermaid fell from Fortune's number one most admired to being acquired by in just five |