Quick Insight
We all want tips to fast-track us to success. We are constantly shown tips from successful companies. Finding patterns in successful companies that don’t exist in unsuccessful companies takes more work. It’s hard to know if that pattern would work in your company. Before committing to a “best practice,” look for when it didn’t work at other companies. Don’t just look for good companies that use it.
Imagine I used the subject line and title “Why Blockbuster is So Successful” twenty years ago. Many people would have opened my email to discover the best secrets of a company perceived as dominant.
My email would reveal one way they operate that explains their success. You would marvel at my genius for discovering this secret and be forever grateful. You would then implement it in your company.
And then you might have gone bankrupt, like Blockbuster. Or your company might have become wildly successful. Either could happen, and it likely had nothing to do with the secrets I revealed.
We all want tips to fast-track us to success. It takes more work to find patterns in successful companies that don’t exist in unsuccessful companies. It’s hard to know if that pattern would work in your company.
Before committing to a “best practice,” look for when it didn’t work at other companies. Don’t just look for good companies that use it.
- Rob Stephens
Founder of CFO Perspective and the Finance and Strategy Toolkit (FAST)
Further Insight
CFO Perspective Resources
- Video: How To Avoid Business Decision-Making Mistakes - I explain some common business decision-making mistakes and how to overcome them.
- Course: Behavioral Finance
Get all the CFO Perspective resources with a FAST (Finance and Strategy Toolkit) membership.