How the Mighty Fall

Marketing Execution with Mark Donnigan · Jan 31, 2026 · 18m

Companies don't collapse overnight. They deteriorate through five predictable phases Jim Collins uncovered after years of research. Collins proves that hiring outsider CEOs rarely works, restructuring typically fails 80% of the time, and betting everything on one big move accelerates decline. The antidote is counterintuitive: stick to your flywheel, fire bullets before cannonballs, and build cash reserves up to 10x your competitors. This episode breaks down Collins' five-phase framework and the exact management principles that reverse decline before it's too late.

I'm Mark Donnigan, and after…