I’m feeling good right now. I just got back from practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). If you aren’t familiar, BJJ is a martial art that is kind of similar to wrestling. It teaches smaller people to neutralize bigger opponents by using their strength against them. It’s difficult but it works. I’ve been throttled by more small guys than I like to admit.

BJJ is also renowned for teaching counter-moves. “When someone puts you in a headlock, do this and this to reverse it and choke them out.” Naturally, students will present different scenarios and ask, “What’s the counter to this?”

Sometimes, the answer is, “Don’t get into that position in the first place.”

The essence of self-defense is avoiding situations where defense is needed. Sometimes escapes are either too costly or unlikely, making prevention preferable. I’m thinking of a particular 300lb fisherman I am sometimes matched with. He’s a nice guy. But it doesn’t always feel that way.

“Don’t get into that situation in the first place.” 

You can’t get out of every situation. The basis of any good self-defense is about avoiding getting into situations where defense is needed. Sometimes you can escape. But the escape is either so costly or unlikely – it would have been better to not have risked it in the first place.

So, if I’m fighting that 300lb fisherman, it’s best that I never end up underneath him. He’s going to destroy me.

Common positions that companies should never have gotten into. (And neither should you). 

1. Poor Communication: Yahoo’s sudden announcement in 2013 that employees could no longer work from home. The decision and its communication led to confusion and resentment among many employees. Along with many avoidable problems, Yahoo is now more of a memory than a company.
2. Failure to Plan: Blockbuster failed to adequately plan for the rise of digital streaming and online rentals. It’s not like that technology appeared overnight. This allowed companies like Netflix to gain significant market share. Blockbuster is, literally, just a memory.
3. Neglecting Employee Development and Well-being: Amazon faces regular criticism over working conditions in its warehouses. A recent report based on leaked internal documents indicates a 150% turnover rate – twice the national average for warehousing. This is potentially costing investors as much as $8 billion a year This is so significant that Amazon’s research indicates that their high turnover may mean that as soon as 2024 they may no longer be able to be fully staffed..
4. Ignoring Market Changes: Kodak’s hesitance to embrace digital photography, despite having invented the first digital camera, led to nearly going out of business. It did eventually pivot but that was after it had completely lost the camera market.
5. Not Paying Attention to Finances: The Silicon Valley Bank didn’t pay attention to queues of changes in the tech industry (their primary client base) and interest rate hikes telegraphed by the Federal Reserve. While it had money, those assets were mostly locked up in Treasury Bonds. They didn’t have the liquidity to manage a short-term increase in demand for cash. This triggered a run on the bank, it couldn’t meet the demand and was taken over by the FDIC.
6. Unaddressed Conflicts: In the 1980s, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs clashed with then-CEO John Sculley over the company’s direction. This disagreement led to Jobs being stripped of managerial duties and subsequently leaving Apple. Apple lost market share and reputation during this period. Steve Jobs returned in 1997 after Apple acquired his company, NeXT for $400 million.
7. Over-promising and Under-delivering: The Fyre Festival promised luxury and top-tier musical acts but delivered disaster and chaos. This led to lawsuits, damaged reputations, and jail time. But Fyre organizer Billy McFarland is out of jail now. He is already promoting Fyre Festival II (though Fyre Festival I never actually happened.) Was it fraud or just very poor planning? Either way – he took a lot of money and didn’t deliver.
8. Not Valuing Customer Feedback: Facebook continues to face criticism over user privacy and data sharing. Despite ongoing feedback, significant changes often only occur under regulatory or public pressure. This has created a decline in user trust, multiple lawsuits leading to billions of dollars in fines, and increased regulation. All three are likely to continue as Facebook appears to continue a trend of saying what it thinks needs to be said but ultimately doing what it wants.
9. Ethical Lapses: Volkswagen’s “Dieselgate” scandal, where they used software to cheat emissions tests, severely harmed the company’s reputation and led to billions in fines.

This is an incomplete list. It would be easy to go on.

Don’t put yourself in those positions

In BJJ, sometimes you end up in a bad position out of ignorance or a lack of experience. When this happens you get submitted and possibly injured or knocked out. Smart competitors learn not to make a mistake like that again.

But you can also end up in a bad position due to carelessness or arrogance. Sometimes experienced grapplers, who know better, underestimate an opponent or overestimate their abilities. Both can lead to “unforced errors”.

In business, if new or inexperienced leaders survive getting into a bad position, they receive an important (but often expensive) lesson. If they can recover from it, smart leaders will be very careful not to make that mistake again.

But even experienced leaders (like in most of the examples above) can become either careless or arrogant. They can overestimate their ability or position. They can underestimate challenges.

No company has ever lasted forever. Don’t assume that what you lead will be the first exception to that rule.

Take good care,

Christian

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