At a big company, often size turns into constipation; it fogs the lens about what's really happening. Sometimes with size and success comes the notion that since we've done things to be successful, we have the formula and can institutionalize it. That can be death.
Interpretation
Large companies can become rigid and lose touch with reality due to their own success.
In this quote, Mark Parker reflects on the challenges that come with the growth and success of a large company. He suggests that as organizations expand, they may become less flexible, leading to a disconnect from the true feelings and needs of their employees and customers. This 'constipation' can create an illusion that past successes provide a guaranteed formula for future achievements, which can hinder innovation and ultimately lead to failure.
In practice
This quote can be used in a business meeting to highlight the importance of staying adaptable.
The buyer is entitled to a bargain. The seller is entitled to a profit. So there is a fine margin in between where the price is right. I have found this to be true to this day whether dealing in paper hats, winter underwear or hotels.
The best client is a scared millionaire.
Business men are to be pitied who do not recognize the fact that the largest side of their secular business is benevolence. ... No man ever manages a legitimate business in this life without doing indirectly far more for other men than he is trying to do for himself.
I was never, ever interested in becoming a businessman or an entrepreneur. If I was a businessman, or saw myself as a businessman, I would have never gone into the airline business.
Companies pay too much attention to the cost of doing something. They should worry more about the cost of not doing it.
Poor firms ignore their competitors; average firms copy their competitors; winning firms lead their competitors.
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