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The Company That Built America, Then Destroyed Itself
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What if your greatest strength today becomes the very thing that destroys you tomorrow? In this episode, I take you inside the dramatic collapse of Bethlehem Steel, once America's industrial backbone that built the Empire State Building and over 1,100 warships in World War II.
We explore three brutal leadership lessons from their downfall that you need to implement today. Bethlehem didn't die from weakness—they died from inflexibility, protecting sunk costs instead of future fitness.
The hard truth? Standing still in a moving world means falling behind. As leaders, we must ask: what part of our model feels sacred that isn't? Listen to the full episode for some clues and order my book, The Mammoth in the Room, for the full blueprint.
In this episode:
- The history of Bethlehem Steel
- The beginning of the downfall
- Leadership lessons from Bethlehem Steel's collapse
- Why embracing change is critical for survival
Resources Used in the Episode:
Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk. Econometrica: https://web.mit.edu/curhan/www/docs/Articles/15341_Readings/Behavioral_Decision_Theory/Kahneman_Tversky_1979_Prospect_theory.pdf
Arkes, H. R., & Blumer, C. (1985). The Psychology of Sunk Cost. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/4812596_The_psychology_of_sunk_cost
Zeng, Y., Chen, Z., & Luan, S. (2022). The Evolutionary Roots of Overconfidence. Evolution and Human Behavior
Tushman, M. L., & O’Reilly, C. A. (1996). Ambidextrous Organizations: Managing Evolutionary and Revolutionary Change. California Management Review: https://web.mit.edu/curhan/www/docs/Articles/15341_Readings/Organizational_Learning_and_Change/Tushman_&_OReilly_1996_Ambidextrous_Organizations.pdf
Get in Touch:
Website: https://www.mammothleadershipsciences.com
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