8 Comments

Successful leaders can be the architect of their own demise. It's what Jim Collins in "How the Mighty Fall" calls the "Hubris of Success." We stop learning and attribute our success to ourselves rather than others. A reminder that the more successful we become, the more humble we should be.

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What do you you think that tendency is tied to Keven? Those people not being life-long learners to begin with?

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I would attribute it to poor self-awareness. Some people are not aware of what got them to success in the first place. Although positive self-awareness is probably closely related to life-long learning. One of the Marine Corps leadership principles is "Know yourself, seek self-improvement." A principle I try to live by everyday.

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interesting.

You might enjoy the parallel nature of this entry too

https://admiredleadership.substack.com/p/dont-get-stuck-in-the-curve

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Loved it. I just retied after 30 years in the USMC and thought I knew it all. Thankful to say I just exited the transition inflection of the sigmoid curve.

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You military guys would call that a TISC. :)

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A perfect story to serve as example for all of us. As we work to create the local government that doesn’t exist in Cary, NC, we strive to stay “at the top of the arc” by keeping what’s precious and discarding the rest to make room for innovation. Kudos on this article!

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You might also take a look at the Sigmoid Curve for a scientific explanation of this too.

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