Even the Giants Stumble

Two items in today's news remind me that sustained organizational excellence is very difficult to achieve. First comes the news that General Electric (GE), one an extremely stable and successful company, is sacking its CEO after only two years on the job. Company performance is lackluster and the challenge of surmounting bad decisions made by the previous CEO (also a former high-flyer) is a further drag on profits. Then, we see that corporate struggles are not just a North American phenomenon as Tencent, the Chinese digital giant is pursuing a corporate restructuring.Sustaining excellence is very, very difficult. Most organizations--and we suspect schools are the same--have to reinvigorate themselves periodically to stay in business. The trick is to do it continuously so that the dips are not as low--see this item from McKinsey.