The Danger of Becoming Complacent

  • 1 min read

I am reading the book Only the Paranoid Survive by Andrew Grove (Co-founder of Intel). In the book he talks about the inertia of success and how in some ways… it can lead to the defeat of your business and personal brand in the long haul.

The ongoing search

We are all searching for success in life, and that success is directly related to your personal brand.  When an individual becomes successful, we have the tendency to wade through the water and not try to swim again.

“When the environment changes in such a way as to render the old skills and strengths less relevant, we almost instinctively cling to our past.” -Andrew Grove

There is danger in becoming complacent with success. This danger is unforeseen and will wreak havoc on any life and personal brand that decides to wade into the water of success and not look up for more… plentiful streams.

We are experiencing a shift in marketing and communications that is changing the landscape of how companies and customers interact with each other. I am afraid that many people have become complacent when it comes to communication with the very people that help them survive: their mentors, customers, contacts, and friends.

They would rather go back to the old way than forge ahead and try a new form of promotion or personal marketing. Let’s just be honest… not forging ahead and creating new streams… new ways of thinking… new thoughts… is a death sentence!

Beware of the trappings of success… Be careful as you step into this new world of communication where a click of a button can take you anywhere… any time.

Be paranoid and understand that you are not the only person in this world trying to succeed and if you become complacent…

You will die.

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Kyle Lacy

Kyle Lacy writes a regular blog at KyleLacy.com and is founder and CEO of Brandswag, a social media strategy and training company. His blog has been featured on Wall Street Journal’s website and Read Write Web’s daily blog journal. Recently, Kyle was voted as one of the top 150 social media blogs in the world (on two websites), and produces regular keynote speeches across the Midwest. He also just finished writing Twitter Marketing for Dummies by Wiley Publishing.

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