CEO Failure Mode: Mr. Mayhem
"[The devil] always sends errors into the world in pairs—pairs of opposites." —C.S. Lewis
In a previous post, I explored the Cult Leader CEO, who treats the company’s mission, vision, and values as unchangeable gospel. Those who dissent are shunned, maybe even cast out of the organization.
Today, I want to examine the opposite extreme: the Mr. Mayhem CEO.
If you remember those insurance commercials from the 2010s (they're getting a bit dated now), Dean Winters played the character “Mayhem,” a force that could turn any ordinary situation into a disaster. The ads were designed to convince people they needed insurance protection.
Unfortunately, if you work for Mr. Mayhem, there's no insurance policy that can protect you from the chaos they cause through their antics.
The Constant Pivot Problem
Mr. Mayhem is a failure mode because these CEOs inject new projects and redirect resources constantly, creating an environment of constant chaos.
Mr. Mayhem CEOs are high-energy individuals who have often been successful in their career because of their willingness to change rapidly and t…
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