The Path to Failure
Introduction to Part II: Why Learn How to Fail?
Change is complicated and difficult. Very few leaders succeed in consistently leading organizations from a low level of performance to a new state of operational excellence. Many books are written on the subject of change from nearly every angle of “how to.” Leaders read such books or book summaries, yet the change they envision and seek to implement fails to materialize. One way to learn how to lead change is to study the guidelines for how to do it. Another approach is to focus on the stories of failed change attempts. Most who are exposed to such stories smile and consider how similar they are to failed events that occurred in their own companies, perhaps many times. Further, out of exposure to the cases of failed change comes the realization that “some things never change,” particularly mistakes made in leading and managing change. Therefore, a leader who seeks to learn how to succeed in changing a company may do well to start with studying those who went before, who tried, and who failed, oftentimes spectacularly. The examples presented in the book offers the message that “to learn how to succeed, one must learn how to fail”—in this case, in change management.