Executive Edition
The BBC
With sprawling operations in entertainment, news, sports, education, and children's programming, the British Broadcasting Corp. became the world's biggest public broadcaster and earned a worldwide reputation for quality. But by the late 1990s, this venerable institution was in danger of sliding into irrelevancy in the multimedia, multichannel digital age. Rivalries and infighting between groups, a culture of anger and blame, cynicism, and lavish spending on outside consultants had disaffected the staff. Bureaucracy and autocracy only made the problems worse. Beginning in 2000, new chief Greg Dyke, working under the motto of "Cut the crap: Make it happen," began to turn the moribund organization into a nimble, creative programmer. Morale soared--so much that when political controversy over a news report on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction forced Dyke to step down in January, thousands of BBC employees took to the streets in demonstrations aimed at keeping him on the job.
Kmart
In 1999, the vice chair of cosmetics kingpin Estee Lauder visited Kmart headquarters to talk about a deal on a new line. What she found was appalling: The offices were a fortress, austere outside and dirty and messy inside. Employees displayed no spark, and pride was absent. "This is not a place for us to do anything," the executive recalled. The lack of confidence on display foreshadowed the once mighty retailer's slip into bankruptcy in 2002. Although the company emerged from court protection last year, it continues to struggle today against competitors such as Target and Wal-Mart. Its stock has been soaring, but not from any sales rebound; the boost comes from cash harvested by selling off stores to the likes of Sears and Home Depot.
This story appears in the September 13, 2004 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.