From GREAT to GOOD?

We know about companies who go from good to great, but is it possible to go in the other direction? Is it possible to have and then lose Superperformance? You betcha. The business landscape is littered with companies who were once great . . . but no more. Of the 20 companies profiled in Jim Collins' landmark Built to Last, published just 13 years ago, over half have slipped dramatically in performance and reputation, several today struggling for their corporate life. Consider the fortunes of Ford, Motorola, Sony, Boeing, Merck, or Phillip Morris, for example. According to Fast Company, "Each has struggled in recent years, and all have faced serious questions about their leadership and strategy."

What happened? How do great organizations lose their greatness? Can you chalk it all up to environmental factors outside of a company's control, or is something else at work?

What is the key to sustaining superperformance?

Surely there must be something vital to learn from the companies whose performance has yet to slide. What can we learn from Johnson & Johnson, American Express, 3M, or Wal-Mart, for example? What have these companies discovered about greatness that is still operating today?

Or it going from super to "stupor" inevitable for all?