The Need for Renewal

Well-established organizations may have particular difficulty recognizing and identifying the effects of the pressures of change and the need for renewal. The difficulties causing decline can take place slowly, go undetected, or be denied for years. If the organization is “lucky,” a crisis may happen to shake things up enough to motivate change. For unlucky organizations the gravitational downward spiral may continue until the point of no return—orders are given: Do Not Resuscitate.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was an organization suffering from years of decline masked by denial. The result of this denial was tragic. Seventy-three seconds into what had become a common launching of the space shuttle ...

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