“Most efforts to launch a new corporate agenda or set of initiatives begin with a great deal of fanfare. Senior executives huddle for six months or longer, before the CEO or division head comes out with a major announcement. Then a communication campaign erupts throughout the organization, often involving a spectacular kickoff event in a big arena, which is capped off by a barbeque before everyone returns to business as usual. The next Monday the only thing employees talk about is the quality of the barbeque!

Before too long energy and focus for the new initiative starts dropping dramatically and people start joking in the hallways about it as the latest program-of-the-month. Not too long after, senior management passes off the dropped baton to some poor unsuspecting manager who tries to make a diving save, before eventually riding the “next big thing” to the corporate bone yard.

Ever seen this happen?” Robert H. Miles