But by examining case studies, researching high-profile leadership failures, and speaking with consultants and industry experts, Blueprints will help identify common mistakes that often plague unsuccessful leaders. Just as there are no set rules for why a business succeeds, there are no commands written in stone about why they fail.Īs the old saying goes, success has a thousand fathers, while failure is an orphan. Poor planning, a dysfunctional corporate culture, and economic factors beyond anyone’s control can all contribute to a company facing disaster despite the leader’s best intentions, as many found out during the Covid-19 crisis. Managers and CEOs are often held responsible for the failure of a company even when the blame lies elsewhere. In the business world, as elsewhere, being in charge means taking risks, putting your reputation on the line, developing trust, and trusting others in return.īill George, a senior fellow at Harvard Business School and former CEO of Medtronic, wrote in Forbes about how his fear of patent and pricing risks led him to pass up the opportunity to buy another promising healthcare company it was almost twenty years before Medtronic would recover and become a leader in the industry.
Whether you manage five people or five thousand, learning how to spot and prevent leadership mistakes can reduce trouble before it starts.