Zombie Business

Synopsis:

Sydney Finkelstein's article, Zombie Businesses: How to Learn from Their Mistakes, discusses businesses that are flourishing companies and on the outside and seem to be doing particularly well, but with a closer look actually are setting themselves up for failure. He talks about issues of how to spot a zombie business as well as how to prevent a business from becoming a zombie business. These companies typically have an overwhelming sense of pride throughout the establishment. For six years Sydney and his research team at Dartmouth's Tuck School of business carried out an extensive investigation of certain major business failures. They found four basic patterns that caused failure: Flawed executive mind-sets, delusional attitudes, breakdown in communication, and leadership qualities that keep a company's executives from correcting their path.

Discussion:

Sydney continues in his article about how to correct from becoming a zombie business. He talks about compensating for company pride, the company's vision of excellence, the company's positive attitude, company perfectionism, and team spirit. I was not aware of these certain businesses that grew to such excellence and ultimately met their demise. I think it is important for business' to always be aware for continual improvement. Even if your business is the leading company in their industry, the only way to stay on top is to constantly set goals and constantly improve on the ways you accomplish your goals. After all, your competitors are always going to be looking for ways to improve to become the leading company.

Also in the article, Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank of Home Depot said, "You won't often hear us sitting around patting ourselves on the back; you want to know the management secrets of the Home Depot? Number one, we are not