Built to Suck: The Inevitable Demise of the Corporation

"Built to Suck: The Inevitable Demise of the Corporation...and How to Save It?" is an excellent book from @JosephJaffe that highlights the struggle of large enterprises to remain relevant. Anyone in business today should read this book. You may not be able to prevent the demise of your company, but it will widen your perspective and bring context to the struggles businesses face every day.

One of the reasons that I love the book and encourage you to read it is because Joseph pulls no punches, he tells it straight, puts his arguments in your face.

At a macro level; "Exhibit A: As mentioned earlier, between 2016-2018, 50 percent of Fortune 500 companies had declining revenue in comparison with the prior year. Exhibit B: 447 of the original Fortune 500 companies from 1955 (when the list was first created) are gone. 9 in 10. Let that sink in. Exhibit C: 50 percent of Fortune 500 companies from 2000 have disappeared. 70 percent of Fortune 500 companies from 1990 have disappeared."

While the book includes hard historical facts it also contains hard truths like; "Failure is the cost of doing business in the world of digital disruption, and the absence of it is pretty much a guarantee of…failure. Finally, Acknowledge Insights & Learnings (F.A.I.L.)"

“It is not the smartest of species that survives, nor the most intelligent; but rather the one that is the most adaptable to change.” —Charles Darwin

There are several examples from the current marketing and DTC (direct to consumer) disruptions. As we are all going through COVID the challenges to a business' are heightened and to hear the latest from Joseph you can tune into his daily stream (Here is the link) BUT, don't do it until you read the book.

The last example I want to make sure I include from the book is the story about the restroom attendant at Independence Beer Garden. "The restroom at the Independence Beer Garden next to Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell is in some kind of mobile trailer. Go there and you’ll meet Lyndell Westbrook, a restroom attendant who hands you your towels and soap, and, of course, the usual accouterments like breath mints, cologne, candy, and the like. He also accepts Venmo! So, let’s try an experiment. I’d like you to send a minimum of $1 to @A1Bathroom via Venmo."