SYMPTOMS OF ADAPTABILITY STRUGGLES Two Beats Behind. Teams that do not adapt lag their more agile competitors—with predictable results. Frozen by Fear of Failure. Frightened by the specter of failure (or accepting responsibility for an adaptation that didn’t work), leaders and their organizations remain unchanged as failure overwhelms them. Superch

In the face of uncertainty, our first instinct is often to reject novelty, looking for reasons why unfamiliar concepts might fail. When managers vet novel ideas, they're in an evaluative mindset. To protect themselves against the risks of a bad bet, they compare the new notion on the table to templates of ideas that have succeeded in the past. (Pag

Vested interests also reinforce the status quo. High-level executives at Fortune 500 companies shun innovation because their compensation is tied to short-term quarterly outcomes that may be temporarily disrupted by forging a new path.