Die On The Mountain? [Part 1]

"As a rock climber, the one thing you learn is that those who panic, die on the mountain. You don't just sit on the mountain. You either go up or go down, but don't just sit and wait to get clobbered."

Jim Collins [author of Built to Last and Good to Great] has made a career out of understanding why organizations [like some rock climbers] succeed. He says the signature of mediocre organizations is not an unwillingness to change, but chronic inconsistency at doing so because the changes they make are inconsistent with their values [whatever they are].

So think about it: What is your organization's values? Are there things you should stop doing chronically inconsistent with your organization's values? Are there things you should start doing that could be more consistent? Or would you rather just die on the mountain?

Edited and adapted from a January 22, 2009 interview of Jim Collins by Jennifer Reingold in FORTUNE magazine. Click pic to read article in its entirety.