Ultimately the spider organisation suffers a crisis of control. It may have gotten to big for the spider to manage, market forces may have changed faster than the spider can adapt, or the spider may be getting on a bit and just hasn’t got the same level of energy any more.
The spider senses this impending loss of control. They may sell the company or install a management team to remove themselves from the day to day operation. Some spiders though, enjoy the game too much. They spend their time setting one person off against another to make sure all the real power resides only with them. Others thrive on the sycophancy lavished on them daily as their direct reports compete for attention.
The whole focus of people’s attention is about currying the most favour with the spider whilst at the same time attacking rivals who might also be trying to shin up the greasy pole. Long working hours can often be an epidemic at these places with everyone trying to show their devotion to the company aka the spider.
Strangely enough the spider does not thrive in the environment they have created. It is actually stressful to them. They just can’t see they have created their own stress. Secondly, with everyone’s real focus being on their personal ambitions, no-one is really paying attention to the customer. This is another important reason why spider organisations reach a ceiling and go no further.
There are clues that spider organisations give out. Look out for them during interview to make sure you don’t join one by mistake. If you are the spider yourself then you need to face your fears and in doing so you will liberate the real potential of your organisation.
