How do ultra invincible companies suddenly become well just big cometitors or worse (profit, stock market)

[stevechang103]

Hello,

I have noticed that many companies that have the following:

A. An Invincible brand

B. The most ruthless competitive executives in the world

C. R and D wiz people 100 times smarter than anyone

d. Market share that has a lock in effect

Which should allow the company to keep growing ad infinitum and dominate its own industry forever and even otehr industries somehow mysteriously eventually decline.

Example;

In the ninties, Microsoft was like the above and the mere hint that Microsoft was going to enter a field meant that the game was over. Microsoft could not be defeated in anyway and had the monetary capital, market shares and brains (Gates and Balmer) to in theory grow and grow and be invincible.

If someone invented medical desktop software that had a cure for aids, Microsoft could somehow put them out of business.

Nowdays:

Microsoft is junk as a stock

All it can do is live off income from its established software

XBox is its on real innovation this decade, but unlike Windows, it is not an original world changing innovation

Companies like Apple and Google and even some startups face a small remote chance of competing with Microsoft and winning

Its eccentric genuis culture (Look at the picture of the original team and know that Gates and Allen had some autistic like traits) is being replaced with a traditional corporate clone culture.


Based on its advantages in the 1990s it should have been able to dominate more markets and use gained advantages and capital to dominate more and more, but now it is well just a big established slow normal company.

The same with Pan Am, Woolworths, Penn Central, AOL, etc. These companies that appeared at one time invincible all declined and at best became like AOL shells of what they used to be.

So, why do invincle companies eventually fall into nothing.

Thanks

[Jaggy001]

The big company culture, the need to please the stock markets every quarter, the desire to protect an entrenched market position all lead to a dearth of innovation and a killing of entrepreneurial spirit.

[NinaN]

Arrogance. I've seen it (worked for Nokia some years back). During the big growth years, many people are promoted that don't have the expertise/experience that is needed. Growth & profits continue, all the management think they are awesome superheros that can do no wrong. And then when the market slows or changes, they won't listen or learn because they know everything. Then comes the decline...

[Retroit]

The same reason not every competitor at the Olympics walks away with a Gold medal.