The Ethical Breakthrough: Ditch the Dead Weight or Die Trying
The hard truth: Evolve or become extinct
In our last piece, we explored how organizations fall into dysfunction, much like the South Indian monkey trap—trapped not by external forces, but by their own unwillingness to let go. Now, let’s talk about how to escape and go on to thrive.
The mistake most leaders make isn’t blindness—it’s arrogance (fueled by self-deception). They see the problems, but they refuse to change (or even to see) what’s keeping them stuck because it’s comfortable, familiar, and feels like control. What is unsafe feels safe becuase it is familiar. So, they hold onto outdated strategies, failed cultures, and misguided loyalties, fearing that releasing their grip means losing everything. But letting go isn’t just about surrender and accepting what is true—it’s about survival.
The organizations that break free and thrive are the ones that take only what (still) serves them and advances their mission and abandon (quickly and with purpose) what doesn’t. This is what separates the businesses that adapt and thrive from those that collapse under their own weight.
The Netflix effect: Does anyone even remember they made DVDs?
If you need proof that letting go leads to success, look no further than Netflix. Once upon a time, Netflix was a DVD rental company—yes, actual physical DVDs that were shipped to your house. It was their entire business model, the core of their success. But the future was shifting, and clinging to the past would have been their downfall.
Imagine Netflix as a monkey in the trap, gripping a DVD and trying to pull it through a hole too small for it to fit. They had a choice: keep struggling with an outdated model or let go and grab something better.
And then, they made a move that seemed insane at the time: they walked away from their original business model. They saw where the world was heading and bet everything on streaming—even when it meant losing their core DVD customers and facing massive resistance.
Now? Netflix is one of the biggest media companies in the world, worth over $200 billion. And DVD rentals? Most people don’t even remember that’s how Netflix started.
The lesson? The real trap isn’t failure—it’s refusing to adapt. If Netflix had clung to DVDs, it wouldn’t just be irrelevant today; it would be dead. Organizations that break free are the ones that let go before it’s too late.
Three conditions for ethical breakthrough
Organizations don’t fail because they lack intelligence or resources—they fail because they’re too stubborn, too slow, or too proud to pivot when the world around them shifts. They fail because they refuse to change their decision-making structures. If you want to escape dysfunction, you must commit to a new way of thinking.
1. Release the Illusion of control
Dysfunctional leaders hoard power, believing that centralized control equals stability. But in reality, concentrated power is what creates fragility. Organizations that thrive operate on distributed leadership, transparency, and accountability.
How to Implement This:
Build leadership structures that rotate authority and decision-making rather than consolidating it.
Ensure that critical decisions undergo independent oversight—don’t let a single voice dictate strategy.
Embrace transparency—hiding information breeds fear and misinformation.
2. Let go of legacy thinking
One of the biggest reasons organizations fail is their commitment to outdated ideas and past successes. Just because something worked before doesn’t mean it still works now.
How to Implement This:
Regularly challenge foundational assumptions—what would you do differently if you were starting fresh today?
Adopt an experimental mindset—pilot new approaches instead of clinging to tradition.
Measure success through impact, not history—don’t defend an idea just because it’s been around for years.
3. Prioritize truth-telling over ego
Dysfunctional cultures punish dissent and discourage hard conversations. But strong organizations reward truth-telling, even when it’s uncomfortable. Leaders who can handle criticism create teams that solve problems before they turn into crises.
How to Implement This:
Establish a culture where feedback is actively sought and valued.
Protect and encourage dissent—make challenging the status quo part of leadership expectations.
Create safe reporting mechanisms for ethical concerns, ensuring that whistleblowers are protected, not punished.
Organizations that win ditch their baggage before it sinks them
In the monkey trap, the smartest animals don’t just let go—they do so before they’re caught. The same is true in business. Organizations that break free don’t wait until dysfunction is undeniable. They act when the first warning signs appear.
So ask yourself:
What am I holding onto that no longer serves my organization?
Where am I resisting change out of fear, rather than strategy?
What structures do I need to put in place to make better decisions moving forward?
The organizations that survive and thrive aren’t the ones that play it safe. They’re the ones that burn the dead weight, pivot hard, and move fast. Continually.
The question is: Will yours be one of them?
