3 Steps to Avoid The Dark Side of Business

Adam Hartung, author of Create Marketplace Disruption: How to Stay Ahead of the Competition talked about the dark side of success in a recent conversation. ( You can listen here.) The dark side of success is when a company' strategy is built around D & E, Defend and Extend. Defend your current product line and Extend it.

I asked Adam:

What are three steps a business leader can take to avoid the dark side of success?

And here's what Adam answered:

1. Who do you have as your advisors that are willing to challenge the way you think?Who will advise them, not patronize them.

2.Start spending time on thinking about the future.

3.Talk about the competition.

Defending and Extending, an incremental approach to brand growth, makes 'intuitive' sense for me. You have a successful brand. You have a profitable brand. You have a dependable brand. You have a dependable means to deliver it. You have a dependable message for that brand. You have careers, perks and incentives, attached to that brand. You invested in that infrastructure of employees, buildings, equipment, routines, incentives, ad campaigns to build that brand.

Who wouldn't want to defend that and extend that?

Adam explains why and profiles companies who chose to and chose not to defend and extend. And he showcased their results.

Read his book. Read his blog. Listen to our conversation here. Or, read the highlights.