ABSTRACT
The Berlin Wall came down in 1989, but apparently someone forgot to notify the Ahornia deer of the region. Apparently, taking a page from the deer handbook, many leaders behave the same way. Sears began to diversify, which they needed to do, but these actions distracted senior leaders’ attention from the competition. Without constant innovation and sustainable excellence in senior management and board directors, even the best leaders flounder and founder. The company’s controversial deal to buy Compaq in the spring of 2002—after a bruising proxy fight led by one of the Hewlett family heirs—did not produce the shareholder returns or profits she had promised. In 1981, Wells Fargo’s assistant operations officer, Lloyd Benjamin, perpetrated one of the largest embezzlements in history by successfully writing off phony debit and credit receipts to benefit boxing promoters Muhammed Ali Professional Sports, Inc. Disruption means bridging the gap between what’s happening and what’s possible.
