into_the_wild

 
:: How the Mighty Fall ::



I am halfway through reading this brilliant book by 
Jim Collins, the bestselling author of Good to Great. 
Jim is an exceptional author, who illustrates his concepts 
And ideas with great storytelling. Using companies that were mentioned
In his earlier books Good to Great and Built to Last, he explained how 
Some companies, even after decades of good growth and momentum

Can move through Stage 1 and Stage 2 in the undisciplined pursuit
Of more. In fact, the demise of Borders resonated with me, as yet another 
Giant fades into oblivion, and new industries spring forth to compete. 
I have an interesting conjecture - is technology the biggest culprit?
Our generation is marked by the biggest technological leap, and 
In just a decade, we have seen many brick and mortar industries 
Falling to technology. I think Kodax, Fuji, and the traditional film
And print industries, as well as HMV, Virgin and the music stores.
Now it is Borders. Next, Kinokuniya, MPH? Who else is in the queue? 

Jim used an interesting metaphor - his (then) ailing wife.
"On a cloudless August day in 2002, my wife, Joanne, and I 
Set out to run the long uphill haul to Electric Pass, outside Aspen,
Colorado, which starts at an altitude of about 9,800 feet. At about 
11,000 feet, I capitulated to the thin air and slowed to a walk, while Joanne
Continued her uphill assault. As I emerged from the tree line, where thin air 
Limits vegetation to scruffy shrubs, I spotted her far ahead in a bright-red

Sweatshirt, running from switchback toward the summit ridge.
Two months later, she received a diagnosis that would lead to two 
Mastectomies. I realised, in retrospect, that at the very moment
She looked like the picture of health pounding her way up the 
Electric Pass, she must already been carry the carcinoma. That image
Of Joanne, looking healthy yet already sick, stuck in my min 
And gave me a metaphor - 

I've come to see institutional decline like a staged disease; 
Harder to detect but easier to cure in the early stages, 
Easier to detect but harder to cure in the later stages. 
An institution can look strong on the outside but already
Be sick on the inside, dangerously on the cusp of a 
Precipitous fall. "

I have this idea to share this book 
With my big boss.