How to Destroy a Company: Lessons from a CEO Fireside Chat

It might seem provocative to title a piece “How to Destroy a Company,” but I invite you to look closer. This is less about taking a company down and more about understanding the genuine forces that can, often unintentionally, erode its foundation. Whether you’re working in a small startup or an established corporation, some dynamics can halt progress, stifle innovation, and ultimately harm the company and its customers.

I recently attended a private event where two prominent CEOs engaged in an insightful fireside chat. The conversation started with a bold question: “How do you destroy a company?” The answer focused on a simple but profound idea: spending too much time on your own internal challenges instead of solving customer problems can have a devastating centrifugal force on any organization. Let’s explore how this happens and what leaders can do to avoid it.

The Fog of Stagnation

One of the most dangerous traps for any organization is “the fog”—a slow-moving, almost invisible state of inertia that makes it nearly impossible to see the way forward. The organization becomes paralyzed in the fog, with everyone slowing down in fear of making a mistake or running into unseen obstacles. This is particularly appealing because the slow pace feels safe; there’s an illusion of control when no one is making big moves. However, this is often where destruction begins.

As a leader, it’s essential to recognize when your organization is in the fog and take steps to clear it. Clearing the fog requires turning the wheels, encouraging your teams to pick up the pace, and ultimately taking risks. You need to be comfortable with the idea that things will go wrong sometimes. When leaders are willing to accept and celebrate failures, they create a culture where people are not afraid to try new things and potentially make mistakes.

The answering CEO shared an insightful metaphor: leaders need to “let people play in the street.” If team members sense that leaders are uncomfortable with risk or failure, they will stop taking chances and stick to safe, predictable work. This type of risk aversion stifles growth and encourages people to stick to routines that might not serve the company’s larger goals. By creating an environment where it’s okay to fail, you inspire your team to push boundaries and solve the customer’s problems, not just internal issues.

In essence, you must absorb complexity as a leader. Take on the burden of navigating the unknown so that your team can focus on executing the business's core mission in the simplest way possible. This means pushing simplicity down the chain of command so each level of the organization understands what needs to be done without being bogged down by unnecessary layers of complexity.

The Allure of Comfort

Another subtle yet powerful force that can derail a company is the allure of comfort. In any organization, individuals are naturally inclined to follow a predictable career path, stay in their established roles, and excel in their specific areas. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, but it can become problematic if people become more committed to their personal advancement than the company’s success.

Imagine this choice: Would you instead carry on with your current function and achieve personal success, or step out of your comfort zone to do whatever it takes for the company to thrive? The problem is that human nature often leads people to choose the safer, well-known path. When everyone in an organization is focused solely on their individual trajectory, they’re less likely to take the risks necessary for the company to grow.

To combat this, leaders should encourage a mindset where team members are willing to go beyond their defined roles when needed. This means valuing the team’s success as much as, if not more than, individual achievement. When leaders model this behavior, they create a culture that values agility, collaboration, and resilience over mere personal success.

That doesn’t mean people shouldn’t have personal goals, but they should know how those goals align with the company’s mission. A leader who can inspire their team to take ownership of the company’s success as a collective goal will see a more vital, cohesive organization emerge.

Self vs. Company: A Dangerous Divide

Perhaps the most insidious way to destroy a company is when team members prioritize solving their problems over the customer’s problems. It’s easy to fall into this trap, especially when internal challenges feel pressing. However, the organization loses its true purpose when internal issues become more important than the customer’s needs.

This divide often shows up subtly. People spend more time debating internal policies, pushing for personal agendas, or navigating inter-departmental conflicts than actively working on solutions that benefit customers. When team members are more invested in solving their problems—such as securing promotions, achieving internal recognition, or gaining influence within the company—than addressing the core needs of the people they serve, the entire organization drifts from its mission.

To counter this, companies must foster a customer-centric culture where everyone knows that their primary job is delivering value to the end-user. Leaders can model this by consistently emphasizing the importance of the customer experience and making it clear that the company’s success depends on meeting and exceeding customer expectations. When employees understand that their success is tied to customer satisfaction, they are more likely to focus on making an impact where it counts.

Final Thoughts

Destroying a company doesn’t require malicious intent. Often, it’s a slow process driven by good people who unintentionally choose the safe, comfortable path over the one that best serves the company’s future. By becoming aware of these forces—the fog of inertia, the allure of comfort, and the pull of personal priorities over customer needs—leaders can proactively guard against them.

Authentic leadership is about making tough decisions, championing simplicity, celebrating risk, and prioritizing the customer above all else. These qualities enable companies to thrive in the face of challenges and create environments where team members feel empowered to contribute to a shared vision. It’s a tall order, but those who get it right will avoid the pitfalls of destruction and drive their organizations toward lasting success.