Why even famous companies fizzle out

Image via Lukreszja

As the image above suggests, since Facebook is so “addictive”—how can anyone resist it?
I decided to write this post after reading an interesting article on NYTimes.com titled: The Facebook Resisters.

Companies, even the famous ones, fizzle out for many reasons.
It’s often very hard to remember that.
Why? Simply because their popularity tends to produce a deceptive consciousness about the future.
Consider Sears Roebuck—it was for decades regarded as one of the most astutely managed retailers in the world. But as Clayton Christensen notes in his remarkable book The Innovator’s Dilemma, “no one speaks about Sears that way today.”

So, can you imagine Facebook turning into something like Sears Roebuck one day?
Why not? Before I answer that, let me first quote Clayton Christensen (from the above book) one more time: “I have found that many of life’s most useful insights are often quite simple… Initially they seemed somewhat counterintuitive, but as I came to understand them, the insights were revealed as simple and sensible.”

My 2¢:
People can’t stop seeking out new experiences.
Especially as we age. There are very few exceptions to this pattern—music being one of them.
That’s why Facebook could likely turn into something like Sears Roebuck.