When I was in college, a famous British rock group performed in our amphitheater, and this was nothing less than a major event. And it was free to students! Our Commissioner of Assemblies had set it up, and this was one of the reasons he was crowned Student Body President, the following year! But the concert itself was less than 100% gratifying, because the group refused to play its greatest hits, opting instead to showcase its more orchestral ministrations that just happened to appear on their current album. In time, the fame of that group declined precipitously, and to this day I wonder if it is due, at least in part, to its members inflexibility. Peter F. Drucker, the recently departed management guru and my professor, has pointed out that many people and companies keep themselves from rising to the top because they are inflexible, especially when it comes to responding to what he terms, the accidental success. That rock group succeeded with tunes it didnt especially like, and it probably thought were no good. So, they were embarrassed to win with efforts that werent as serious as those that they could produce with a larger orchestra. Drucker cites examples of department stores that had a rule of thumb that fashions should account for about 75% of profits, yet unexpectedly, televisions and refrigerators started becoming the leaders. The president of Macys for one, was concerned and actually tried to find ways to slow down appliance sales so fashions could catch up, becoming restored to their proper and rightful spot in the pantheon of profitability. In other words, instead of seizing the new opportunities presented by appliance sales, management was inflexible, wasting time and money to try to restore the old balance. If an opportunity comes along that can bring you sudden success, will you be flexible enough to ride it to victory, or will you insist on riding your old horse, instead? |
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