Every organization is nothing more than a mental construct. Thirty years ago, it was a firm, if not rigid, construct. However, in today's rapidly changing environment, it must be a "living, evolving construct". While it may be very adaptable and resilient, it is vulnerable to disease when in an unhealthy environment.
An organizational organism is a fragile idea to which people are drawn - and their resources committed - in pursuit of their common Vision, Values, Purpose and Priorities. An organization can be no more than the sum of the focused enthusiasm of the people drawn to it. Without the conscious and intentional discretionary energy of the people, all their talents and other resources are, at best, underutilized if not steadily decaying to a quiescent state.
The success of any organization lies more in the culture derived from its shared Vision and Values then in its business strategy, more in its enthusiastic commitment to its Purpose and Priorities than its technical expertise and management competence, important as these may be.
When people believe what they are doing is important, they easily focus on their tasks with enthusiasm and persistence; they have the passion of ownership. The operative idea is belief. The Essence of Leadership is the ability to gain Buy-in to the leaders' Vision, Values, Purpose and Priorities. Without gaining Buy-in, the leaders' only alternative is the blunt instrument of coercion.
When management fails to gain Buy-in and chooses to use coercion, resentment and revenge arise. This condition is expressed as Distrust, Dissonance, and Disengagement – A virulent "3D Virus". Once it gets started, it can be tenacious and difficult to eradicate. It saps the focused enthusiasm and the discretionary energy of the organism.
Like all living organisms, the organizational organism must always be in harmony with its ever-evolving ecosystem if it is to flourish. When in harmony, the organism receives vital nutrients such as new ideas, opportunities, etc. All healthy organisms have feedback loops, sensitive circuits, which guide the organism's response to changes in the ecosystem.
However, when an organizational organism is infected with the "3D Virus," the feedback loops shut down, then atrophy, and eventually, die. A 3D Virus infection makes the organism unresponsive to changes in its environment; it responds inadequately to change required to meet the expectations of its customers, suppliers, community and other stakeholders. If the virus infection is not controlled, it will be fatal!
The 3D Virus is extremely virulent. Even a modest 3D Virus infection will easily defeat management's best designed and most enthusiastically pursued Strategic Plan.
A company -- an organizational organism -- does not die from competition! If you will look closely, you will discover that the corpse was ravaged by the 3D Virus. It dies when the employees' experience so much distrust that they no longer believe in the leader's Vision, Values, Purpose and Priorities. It dies when the employees become dissonant and disengaged. (The Gallup Company reports that up 65% of a typical organization's employees are disengaged!)
The best employees "fire the boss" and move on. This provides advancement opportunities for the less competent employees who willingly endure the negativity of distrust, dissonance and disengagement for a paycheck. Often an organization dies many years before anyone recognizes it is dead and someone provides a proper burial.