Broken Business

ANALYSING THE PROBLEMS AT WIND

We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.

—Albert Einstein

WHAT WENT WRONG AT WIND?

Our story about Wind International is, admittedly, a bit dramatic and simplified for the sake of an easy-to-read narrative. But the broad strokes are all based in reality. The issues described happen time and time again in companies both large and small, and their leaders are often taken just as much by surprise as John is. The problem is less about bad apples and more about good apples finding themselves tainted by a bad barrel.

In the story of Wind International and John, it is easy to pick up on some of the systemic problems that existed within the company and the numerous mistakes the CEO was making. Let's briefly recap the problems. At Wind International, an otherwise good company ended up in a crisis of its own making as a result of poor leadership choices regarding personnel, strategy, structure, culture, and controls. These were not separate choices that presented themselves to John; some issues flow from others. Trouble can come from a single decision such as, for example, having Varga operate largely independently. Addressing these poor choices lies at the core of Empowering Integrity and will be explored in greater depth throughout the book. An overview of the problems follows below.

Overly Aggressive Growth Strategy, Building Excessive Pressure on a Weak Foundation

Growing Too Fast, Without Integration ...