Markers for the 5 Stages of Decline

The following is a list of markers for the 5 Stages of decline, outlined in Jim Collins' book, How the Mighty Fall and Why Some Companies Never Give In. The markers don't necessarily mean that your clinic is destined to fail, but do indicate an increased possibility that you're in that stage of decline. Use these markers as a self-diagnostic checklist.

Markers for Stage 1

• Success entitlement, arrogance
• Neglect of a primary flywheel
• “What” replaces “why”
• Decline in learning orientation
• Discounting the role of luck

Markers for Stage 2

•Unsustainable quest for growth, confusing big with great
•Undisciplined discontinuous leaps
•Declining proportion of right people in key seats
•Easy cash erodes cost discipline
•Bureaucracy subverts discipline
•Problematic succession of power
•Personal interests placed above organization interests

Markers for Stage 3

•Amplify the positive, discount the negative
•Big bets and bold goals without empirical validation
•Incurring huge downside risk based on ambiguous data
•Erosion of healthy team dynamics
•Externalizing blame
•Obsessive reorganizations
•Imperious detachment

Markers for Stage 4

•A series of silver bullets
•Grasping for a Leader-as-Savior
•Panic and Haste
•Radical change and “Revolution” with fanfare
•Hype precedes results
•Initial upswing followed by disappointments
•Confusion and cynicism
•Chronic restructuring and erosion of financial strength

For details on the 5 stages of decline, please see 5 Signs Your Veterinary Clinic Is Failing