The Stagnation Assassin Blog
Weapons-Grade Wisdom
Short Slaughters, Permanent Profits
Start Here: My Most-Read Articles
The Stagnation Encyclopedia: Why Is Your Company Dying While You Celebrate Success?
The warning signs most executive teams miss, in one reference.
The Three Essential Leadership Behaviors That Make or Break Organizational Transformation
Three behaviors that quietly sabotage change efforts, and how to master them.
HOT System Transformation vs. Kotter's 8-Step Change Model
A 90-day rapid turnaround approach compared with the classic 8-step model.
The 3-Question Transformation Leader Test
Three questions that show who can actually run a turnaround.
What's the “70% Rule” and Why Does It Work?
Decide before you have every fact, and stop paying for delay.
What's the Difference Between Activity and Productivity?
The audit that turns busyness into measurable impact.
Drowning in Data but
Starving for Strategic Solutions?
Why You Don’t Need More Information
1. Where Does Seventy Percent Come From? 2. Waiting for Certainty Is Itself a Decision 3. Would the Missing Information […] Read More
When to Raise Price, When to Cut Cost
The standard advice is to cut costs first, and the reason given is always the same: cost is inside your […] Read More
Best OKR Software: Two of Them Don’t Exist
What does this article cover? What happened to this category? What should you actually evaluate on? What survives, and who […] Read More
The Goal by Goldratt: Where the Math Fails
What does this article cover? What does the novel format actually achieve? Where does constraint logic genuinely transform? Where does […] Read More
Four Things ITW’s 80/20 Actually Did
1. What does 80/20 actually mean inside Illinois Tool Works? 2. What does the sort actually cover? 3. Why does […] Read More
Who Should Make This Decision?
The Rule That Breaks Delegation What Does "Decision Rights" Actually Mean? Why Does Pushing Authority Down Fail? Part Two: Assigning […] Read More
4 Portfolio Decisions at Public Manufacturers
In July 2022, Stanley Black & Decker closed the sale of its commercial electronic and healthcare security businesses to Securitas […] Read More
12 Change Frameworks, and Six Are the Same
What does this article cover? What did the mapping actually show? Which six are the same one? What are the […] Read More
Dollar Tree vs 99 Cents Only: Who Won It
Verdict: Macon Brock def. Dave Gold by split decision, 3 rounds to 2. Gold was the better visionary and the […] Read More
5 Places Decisions Get Stuck
The Question, Restated: Where Are Decisions Waiting? Queue One: Before Anyone Proposes Anything Queue Two: Information That Would Not Change […] Read More
When to Buy SKU Software, and When Not To
What is actually blocking your rationalization? What the spreadsheet already does What the software actually adds From diagnosis to decision […] Read More
Metrics That Lie in a Declining Business
What does this article cover? Which metrics lie in a declining business? Why do they invert? What should you report […] Read More