The big boys fall to earth

Corporate success inevitably leads to failure. Think AT&T, Kodak, IBM, Xerox, General Motors, Lucent, Coca-Cola " all once dominant, all since humbled. And that's for starters. Every corporation needs to grow to remain vital, no doubt about it. Many companies convince themselves they need acquisitions to speed growth ' a dubious proposition. What they get eventually is arteriosclerosis. Seth Glickenhaus, 87, a partner in New York investment firm Glickenhaus, calls the process 'institutionalisation.'' As a company grows, so does its manual of rules. Enterprising employees are sty...