Like a Ton of Bricks

While attending a continuing education class today, it hit me that a major reason why established firms fail to progress is the inability of the established leadership to relinquish control. It's not all about money, but the fear of losing status/prestige/control. If new people develop new business then they won't be needed the way they are now. I think this is what the established leaders fear more than the possibility of losing money and I think this is why they sometimes actively seek to remove people who threaten the status quo. These people have spent their lives convincing their peers, clients and themselves that they are so valuable that they are irreplaceable. This is why they won't retire and why they keep incompetent people around (even promoting them) and create conditions that make the exceptional people leave.