Why Organizations Keep Pursuing Failed Goals and How to Stop
Source: sloanreview.mit.edu
- Organizations often continue pursuing original goals even when circumstances change, a problem called dysfunctional momentum that can spiral into disasters.
- This happens because people focus too much on action, ignore warning signs, and defer to authority figures without questioning their decisions.
- The solution requires creating deliberate interruptions to reassess situations, developing humility about what you don't understand, and actively seeking out information that challenges your current thinking.
Dysfunctional momentum occurs when teams keep working toward an original goal without pausing to recalibrate, even when clear signals suggest they should change course. Like wildfires that start small but grow into catastrophes, business projects can spiral out of control when managers get so focused on execution that they miss or ignore warning signs. Firefighting teams offer powerful lessons for business leaders about how to recognize and prevent these escalating problems before they become di