6 Unmistakable Ways to Destroy your Organization

I have seen organizations during inception, growth, maturity and also decline. 

I have seen organizations accelerate in their growth path. Unfortunately I have also experienced the death pangs of  organizations.  I have seen the roaring tigers turn into meek mouses. And I have tried to learn from the experience.  In this blog post I have jotted down some key points leading to destruction of organizations. 

• Put all your eggs in one basket : Have only one major customer who contributes 95% of the revenue.  You will never know when the "cash cow" becomes a "dog" and things will come crashing down. Rely so much on that one Golden Goose and become complacent about your success that you do not put adequate marketing effort to gain another big account or diversify into other areas. One fine morning, while having your morning cuppa, you might realize that the ground under feet is shaking and you are bound to fall !

• Management by Fear :  Just thing how much will an employee work if they fear that they might lose their jobs ? Well, only just about enough to keep their jobs ! The organization will NOT have the willing cooperation of the associates . When you manage by fear, you will not be able to keep good and productive people. They will stay and tolerate high handed bosses only when jobs are scarce. As soon as the market opens up they will leave for a more pleasant work environment . And we all know losing good employees is usually devastating for any organization . So ... 

• Be a control Freak : Do not trust the people and micromanage their work. You control each and every moment at work and want accountal of  their output.  This is sure to break the backbone of the organization. Conversely, if you want to grow your organization, and If you bring people on to do a job, LET THEM DO THEIR JOB! Yes, you started the company. No, that doesn’t mean you have to do every task. Give people freedom to operate. Get some benefit from having those talented people around. Use them as a force multiplier. If you’re paying them to do work, let them do work. They *want* to do work.  But for destroying the organization, you have to believe and do just the opposite of this.

• Do not heed the Golden Rule  : The Golden Rule is " Do unto others as they would have do Unto you ".  If you treat your employees well and trust them, it will be reciprocated. In an organization, when it was going thru a bad patch, the senior leadership had a heart to heart discussion with the key members of the company and explained the situation, told about their losses. He asked for pay cut and asked for their support. And surprisingly, 90% of the people willingly took pay cuts and stood rock solid with the organization.  In another organization, during rough weather, the senior management took arbitrary decisions, laid off people without taking them into confidence, treated them badly.  When the key people resigned, the organization expected them to stay back and support the activities. Do you think they cared ? No way ! Instead the reaction was "If you can behave like this, so can I !"

• Have "Yes " Men and Women around you :  As a leader, you only like to hear what you want to hear.  Surround yourself with people who say "Yes" to everything you utter. You like and appreciate people who worship you and do not contradict you.  You dislike and demotivate professional people who point out the mistakes and have constructive feedback and suggestions.  You do not admit or learn from mistakes.
  If you follow all these, then you company is surely doomed.

• Do not believe in appreciation : Believe that if you appreciate people, they will either become complacent or ask for a raise.  You point out their mistakes and failure - often in public but  not a word of praise when things go well . You continually find fault with your subordinates, gloat over their mistakes and express sarcasm.  You will never get willing cooperation of your associates and you and the other leaders will lose their respect . The employees will become demotivated and stressed . And your organization will crumble in the future. 

Do you want your organization to survive ? If yes, then never ever follow the above points. 

All the best !