Page 156 - MS Year in Review 2020

crises. The lessons or findings about causes of unsuccessful crises

leadership are, in summary:

 Solving the Wrong Problem!

 Creating the Wrong Solution to a Problem.
 Failure To “Cross the Rubicon”

 Failure to address the Crisis in a Timely Manner
 Need to get Buy-in to a Solution

These finding and lessons are discussed and explained below.

Solving the Wrong Problem!

A very important lesson about unsuccessful leadership of organizational crises is
found in the case of Kodak. Unfortunately, Kodak illustrates the tragedy of solving
the incorrect problem.

Kodak believed and made the explicit assumption that that difficulties in new
product development were its core underlying problem. However, Kodak’s

difficulties in new product development were a symptom of its underlying problem
and not the core problem to be solved.

The true fundamental problem concerned the nature of Kodak’s culture and its

corporate identity: The company had become too cautious and risk-adverse; and
the accepted business definition was that we are a “company that is a leader in
producing film and, as a result, has certain core competencies that can be built

upon to continue our success.” Sadly, under Chandler’s leadership, Kodak’s
revitalization strategy was simply “diversification” based upon core
competencies. Kodak never articulated an appropriate overarching vision for what

Kodak was to become.

This diversification strategy was poorly conceived, based on a spurious (false)
premise, poorly executed, and ultimately did not work. To a great extent, the failed
solution to Kodak’s crisis was attributable to the lens it used in planning its

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