How the Mighty Toyota Falls

Built to Last companies, didn't last. Good to Great companies have fallen. Now, it looks like bestselling author Jim Collins understands what he can truly rely on - organizational decline. In his most recent book How the Mighty Fall, Collins has outlined that companies go through a predictable pattern that can lead to their demise, and that they must catch themselves early enough in what he calls the 5 Stages of Decline, if they have any chance at all to pull out of the downward spiral.


Collins knows that great companies must develop the ability to see the warning signs, and he's being proven right. Earlier today, Akio Toyoda was quoted as saying that Toyota is "grasping for salvation", which as you can see by the illustration above is not a great place to be.

The lesson for other leaders is that they must be crystal clear in how they see the world, and how it relates to their organization, and its products and services. Otherwise, the chances of reversing the decline may not be in your favour.

Click here to read our recent LeaderShip Edge view of Jim Collins' book How the Mighty Fall.

Click here to read the Toyota article on Bloomberg.