Topic: Flywheel and Doom LoopThink of two organization or units you have observed: one that followed the Flywheel principle, and the other that fell into the Doom Loop. What caused the difference betw

 Euphuda Lawrence

I think Amazon and Walgreens followed a Flywheel principle and I believe Toys R Us and K-Mart fell into the doom loop.

The difference between the Flywheel principle and the Doom Loop is as followed:

The Flywheel principle uses the statement “good to great”. When they say that they mean taking a company from being good or just okay to making a great profit. Collins sees the good-to-great transition as a preparatory ‘‘build-up’’ stage leading to a ‘‘breakthough,’’ with an upward trajectory represented by positive economic outcomes for a firm or, for a nonprofit organization, reaching and achieving other important goals (Caulkins, 2018). It is said in Re-theorizing Jim Collins’s culture of discipline in good to great Innovation that you need to start with disciplined people in your company or organization with disciplined thoughts and disciplined actions to accomplish the Flywheel principle.

The Doom Loop is quite different from the Flywheel principle. The Doom Loop goes in many different directions. It goes for what is called a quick come up by breaking things or bringing new things out for a breakthrough without the buildup process. Those who launch revolutions, dramatic change programs and wrenching restructurings will almost certainly fail to make the leap. Tremendous power exists in the fact of continued improvement and the delivery of results (Kobren, 2016). It is called a Doom Loop because the company does not grow or progress because there is no buildup or momentum, so they wind up with disappointing results.

            My contrast teaches me that many organizations fall into the Doom Loop rather than build momentum over the long term in the Flywheel because they change with the times, buildup, plan out ways to accommodate its consumers, and organize complete plans to succeed. The comparison companies often tried to jump right to disciplined action, but disciplined action without self-disciplined people is impossible to sustain, and disciplined action without disciplined thought is a recipe for disaster (Caulkins, 2018).

            The Flywheel principle of thought is important to public safety organizations because is based on a “good to great” model and uses disciplined thoughts and actions to achieve great results. The concept of ‘‘culture of discipline’’ is central to his ideas for achieving enduring, sustainable organizations, whether in the business or nonprofit sectors. The transition begins not by trying to discipline the wrong people into the right behaviors, but by getting self-disciplined people on the bus in the first place (Caulkins, 2018). After getting disciplined people it, all starts to fall into place. You next have to work on the disciplined thoughts and from you have the momentum for positive results.

Zechariah 7:9 KJV

Thus Speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgement, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his bother.

Holy Bible King James Version

Caulkins, D. D. (2008). Re-theorizing jim collins's culture of discipline in good to great. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 21(3), 217-232. doi:10.1080/13511610802404880. Retrieved from http://rx9vh3hy4r.search.serialssolutions.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Re-theorizing+Jim+Collins%27s+culture+of+discipline+in+Good+to+Great&rft.jtitle=Innovation%3A+The+European+Journal+of+Social+Science+Research&rft.au=Caulkins%2C+D.+Douglas&rft.date=2008-09-01&rft.issn=1351-1610&rft.eissn=1469-8412&rft.volume=21&rft.issue=3&rft.spage=217&rft.epage=232&rft_id=info:doi/10.1080%2F13511610802404880¶mdict=en-US

Kobren, William "Bill". "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... And Others Don't." Defense A R Journal 23.4 (2016): 395+. Business Insights: Global. Web. Retrieved from http://bi.galegroup.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/global/article/GALE%7CA487432955?u=vic_liberty&sid=summon

Kamera Langston

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One company that followed the Flywheel Principal very well is Amazon.  In 2017 84% of U.S consumers made purchases on Amazon (Popomaronis, 2017).  Amazon started out as an online book retailer (Kistler, 2015). Then the pattern of build up started under the guidance of Jeff Bezos the company became a seller of many items and made delivery key concept (Kistler, 2015). To enhance the concept of delivery, Amazon created an exclusive money-saving membership called “Prime.” The Prime Membership started off as a great tool to increase sales as it had a promise of two-day shipping. However, Amazon had to face the brutal facts of their exclusive membership. In the summer of 2015, Amazon started a promotion exclusively for Prime members called “ Prime Day” (Kistler, 2015). The day ended up being a trending failure as many of the items sold out instantly leaving consumers with discounted items such a brass knuckles and ham (Kistler, 2015).  The New York Times then released an article describing the terrible working conditions of Amazon’s fulfillment centers (Kistler, 2015) Amazon fixed both problems gradually over 3 years. Prime Day became better as Amazon made better decisions on what they were going to sale on prime day; they even gave prime members a sneak peek on what was going on sale so that members could plan. Amazon understood that working at the fulfillment centers is hard on its employees and so last week Amazon increased the minimum wage of its warehouse workers to $15 an hour. Collins mentions in his book that the flywheel concept consists of consistency and has a defines hedgehog concept (Collins, 2001, p. 183).  In addition to this, Collins (2001) noted that companies should “harness appropriate technologies to {the business’s] Hedgehog Concept, to accelerate momentum (p.183). Amazon did this by creating items such as the Amazon Echo and the Amazon Dash Buttons, both technologies made it easier for the consumer to get what they need on demand. The Amazon Echo used an interactive robot (Alexa) that consumers could interactive to get what they need from Amazon without having to go online. The dash buttons allow customers to buy regular household name brands such as Tide and Bounty on demand.

            While talking about the success of Amazon, most researchers cannot forget to mention eBay.  Amazon has gained dominance as the largest marketplace for third-party sellers (Thau, 2018).  “About 52% of merchants on eBay are also Amazon merchants” (Thau, 2018). eBay used to be an online auction house for hard to find items and antiques, but the company decided to skip the buildup and jump right into selling new products such as electronics and car parts ( this was a breakthrough). eBay CEO Devin Wenig wanted to make some big moves as he hoped for a miracle in proving investors that eBay was still relevant in the e-commerce world (Rao, 2016). Collins (2001) stated in his book that a business falls into the doom loop if the company jumps right into the action without considering discipline and getting the right people (p.183). Wenig seems to have a ”get back at Amazon attitude” as he proposes solution becoming better e-commerce company. Instead of creating a new delivery plan, eBay decided to partner with Uber to rush products to consumers (Rao, 2016).  CEO Wenig’s goals was to stabilize eBay and make purchasing easier and faster for consumers; however, unlike Amazon Wenig’s strategies consists of many short-cuts. What sets Amazon apart from eBay is the effort they put in with coming up with new ideas.

            In regard to public safety organization, taking shortcuts is a strategy tht should be used ONLY in crucial circumstances, most situations require a strategic approach, that is scalable but does not interrupt agency operations. It is easy for public service organizations to fall into the doom loop as most personnel have a sense of urgency to get things done.  Scripture states “ Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” One thing that makes Amazon a great company is their partnership with other companies, unlike eBay that seems to be focusing on outsourcing its competition. “ If you can not beat them… join them”.

References

Collins, J. (2001). Good to great: Why some companies make the leap --and other's don't. Place of publication not identified, NY: Harper Business.

Kistler, A. (2015). Great organization don't have "miracle moments". Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/great-organization-dont-have-miracle-moments-october-book-kistler

Popomaronis, T. (2017, August 4). The inexorable rise of amazon: Nine reasons why it'll only get bigger. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/tompopomaronis/2017/08/04/jeff-bezos-amazon/#4a7ba5b5c160

Thau, B. (2018, May 29). Inside amazon's marketplace: ebay loses ground as sellers salivate over 100 million 'prime' members. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/barbarathau/2018/05/29/inside-amazons-marketplace-ebay-loses-ground-as-sellers-salivate-over-100-million-prime-members/#78951ec771aa

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