A Class with Drucker - Headway | Work on yourself

IF YOU KEEP DOING WHAT WORKED IN THE PAST ■ 49
and take an entirely different course immediately. If you are not prepared
to do this and do not drop the product or the procedure, you will certainly
fail as an organization.”
<strong>Drucker</strong> paused. Then he added, “Of course, the best procedure is to
obsolete your past successes yourself to stay ahead of your competition.
And not just by incremental improvement, either. That way, you will maintain
control and create your own future.”
Peter gave us several other examples of companies, even whole industries,
which disappeared even though they optimized past successes,
sometimes to an extraordinary degree. I do not recall them now, but I
immediately understood what he meant. In the military we were constantly
warned that we should avoid fighting the next war based on the methods,
weapons, and tactics of the most recent successful one. Peter’s lesson was
clearly one that applied in many aspects of human behavior.
All of us were mesmerized to such an extent that time ran out before
we completed our meals, and the discussion continued around the points
<strong>Drucker</strong> had made. Before we knew it, it was time to return to the classroom,
where Peter took up an entirely different subject. But before he
started to lecture on the new subject, I scribbled some quick notes to
myself on what he had said during the dinner break. I have emphasized
them many times in my own writing and teaching.
Here are what I consider the important implications of <strong>Drucker</strong>’s lesson:
■ Continuing what led to past success will invariably lead to eventual
future failure.
■ If caught unawares, organizations must be willing to instantly
abandon what was formerly successful.
■ Better yet, an organization should assume an eventual revolutionary
change is inevitable. Therefore, an organization should take actions
to create its own future by making the revolutionary change itself,
even though it means obsolescing the products or methods of its
current and past success.
Examples Are Everywhere
<strong>Class</strong>ic business cautionary tales of those ignoring this concept include
the demise of the buggy whip industry and everything having to do <strong>with</strong>