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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- B an k of America
| A dd res so graph Went into a Chicken Little "The Sky Is Falling" panic about the decline of its core business. Tried a quixotic "total corporate rejuvenation" throwing itself into the office automation field against IBM, Xerox, and Kodak. When this failed, the next CEO engineered a "strategic flip-flop" away from office automation. Then, "like a brain surgeon vanishing from the operating room in the middle of an operation" that CEO resigned after less than a year. The next CEO does another "degree turn" and buys his way into offset printing. It fails the company takes a write-off. Four CEOs in six years, leading up to 1984. Later, not one, but two bankruptcies B an k of America Went into a reactionary revolution mode in response to deregulation. Fell behind in and technology, then threw itself into an expensive wup program. Fell behind in then launched a program to catch-up. Tried to "pull off its own version of Mao's Cultural Revolution" by hiring corporate change consultants who led "corporate encounter groups" and tried to institute a "rah-rah approach to management" Lurched after Charles Schwab; culture clash erupted, and later sold it back. Lurched after Security Pacific, trying to emulate Wells merger acquisition failed, creating a multibillion-dollar write-off.? Appendix Ab Bethlehem Steel Vacillated back and forth diversification, then focus on steel, then back to diversification, then back to steel. Fell behind in technology and modernization, then launched a crash program to catch up. Management reacted to the unions, then unions reacted to management, then management reacted to unions, then unions reacted to management, and soon. Meanwhile, foreign competitors and Nucor snuck in from below to devour market E ck er db Fell into doom loop by making unrelated acquisitions, in search of growth, but without any guiding Hedgehog Concept. Bought a candy company, a chain of department stores, a security service, and a food-service supplier. In the biggest disaster, it bought American Home Video lost $31 million, then sold it off to Tandy at $72 million below book value. Eckerd never fully recovered, got bought in a leveraged buyout, and later sold out to J. Cb Great Western Financial Inconsistency of program. Would zig one way (trying to look more like a bank, then zag another way (trying to become a diversified firm. Into insurance, then later out of insurance. Into leasing and manufactured housing, then back to focus on finance and banking. "Don't worry about what you call us-a bank, an S&L or a Zebra" Held together by the personal vision of the CEO, but when he retired, Great Western stumbled under its unwieldy, incoherent model, fell into reactionary restructuring, and sold out to Washington Download 3.69 Mb. Share with your friends:
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