Skip to content

Eric Friedman

  • Home
  • Fractional COO & Coaching
  • About

Combat Ineffective

December 18, 2019 by Eric Friedman

There’s a scene in Black Hawk Down in which US forces have taken such heavy attack, sustained massive injuries, and cannot get out that they call back to base they are “combat ineffective”. It’s a powerful scene and circumstance that shows the casualties of war and gruesome fighting during a firefight. It’s also not the typical Hollywood hero story where the good guys win.  It may be callous to compare this to startups but I think about it a lot in the context of people and companies “fighting” to win. As Ben Horowitz says there is a peace time CEO and a wartime CEO and they are rarely the same person. 

Sometimes, when times are tough, and you have done everything you can, it makes more sense to “call it” rather than continue losing. It’s hard to do, but when so much is at stake it can mean stopping losses and saving what is left. Sometimes this means making an executive change, cutting a product, shutting down a division or winding down the entire co. The reality is that many of these decisions are incredibly hard and don’t happen soon enough. In the abstract its easy to make strategic decisions and cuts, but when humans and people you have worked with for years are at stake, it becomes incredibly difficult.

This topic has come up often recently, and while I won’t get specific, action usually takes too long. I have found that nobody looks back on the decision and things “wow, I am so glad we waited”. Waiting too long can be too late, and that doesn’t end up helping anyone. Taking a pride hit and “calling it” earlier is almost always the right decision. I’m never sure what the right decision is the more experience I gain. 

What I do know is that it always makes more sense to live to die another day. 

Related

Tags: Leadership

Post navigation

Previous Post:

It’s the Company you keep

Next Post:

Predictions for 2020 and the decade ahead

Search

Subscribe via email

Recent Posts

  • Tapestry.so – No code project breakdown of time, costs, and a guide for others
  • What does this make possible?
  • Tapestry – Weaving Stronger Co-Founder Partnerships
  • SOS Shiny Object Syndrome
  • 2021 Predictions

Top Posts

  • Putting out the biggest fires
    Putting out the biggest fires
  • Building The Machine
    Building The Machine
  • 3 Wide 3 Deep
    3 Wide 3 Deep
  • The Rights and Wrongs of Brand Evangelism!
    The Rights and Wrongs of Brand Evangelism!
  • Aberrant Geniuses (aka jerks)
    Aberrant Geniuses (aka jerks)
  • You can’t be successful reporting to two managers
    You can’t be successful reporting to two managers
  • Shapers
    Shapers
  • What does this make possible?
    What does this make possible?

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Projects

  • Building The Machine
  • DoBlu.com
  • Eat.ly
  • Multiplayergames.com
Thoughts from Eric Friedman