Large organizations don't worship shareholders or customers, they worship the past. If it were otherwise, it wouldn't take a crisis to set a company on a new path.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that organizations tend to cling to past successes rather than innovating, only changing when forced by crises.
Gary Hamel's quote reflects on the tendency of large organizations to prioritize historical achievements and established practices over the dynamic needs of current stakeholders. This ingrained behavior often leads to stagnation, as companies wait for a crisis to motivate significant change, highlighting the need for proactive adaptation rather than reactive measures to evolving challenges.
In practice
In a corporate strategy meeting to discuss future innovations.
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Statistics suggest that when customers complain, business owners and managers ought to get excited about it. The complaining customer represents a huge opportunity for more business.
The reality is the Lean Startup method is not about cost, it is about speed. Lean startups waste less money, because they use a disciplined approach to testing new products and ideas.
Brands are all about trust. That trust is built in drops and lost in buckets.
If you can tune into the fantasy life of an 11-year-old girl, you can make a fortune in this business.
Thinking about starting a small business? Assume everything will cost twice as much and take twice as long as you think it will.
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