Olivia: In the 1960s, the average company on the S&P 500 stuck around for about 33 years. Today, that number is projected to drop to just 12. Most companies are built to die, and faster than ever. What if the reason isn't what we think? Jackson: Whoa, 12 years? That's terrifying. It's like corporate life expectancy is plummeting. You start a job and you might outlive the company itself. Olivia: Exactly. And our guide through this corporate graveyard today is Jeffrey Hayzlett, in his book The Hero Factor: How Great Leaders Transform Organizations and Create Winning Cultures. What's fascinating, and really gives him credibility on this topic, is that Hayzlett was the former Chief Marketing Officer of Kodak. Jackson: Oh, wow. The poster child for failing to adapt. He didn't just study the collapse of a giant; he saw it from the inside. Olivia: He had a front-row seat to one of the biggest corporate flameouts in history. And his big takeaway from that and his other ventures isn't about better technology or smarter marketing. It's about something he calls the Hero Factor. Jackson: Okay, I'm intrigued. If the guy from Kodak has a survival guide, I'm listening. What is this 'Hero Factor'?

Olivia: Hayzlett argues that for decades, we've been trapped in a false choice in business: you can either focus on people or you can focus on profit. He says that's a losing game. Instead, he breaks leadership down into two core components. The first is 'Operational Excellence.' Jackson: That sounds familiar. That’s the stuff they teach in business school, right? Metrics, efficiency, strategy, growth. Olivia: Precisely. The book even compares it to Joe Friday from the old TV show Dragnet: "Just the facts, ma'am." It's the numbers, the data, the measurable results. It's essential. But it's only half of the equation. Jackson: And the other half? Olivia: The other half is what he calls 'Hero Intensity.' This is the part that’s harder to measure. It’s about your company's values, how you actually live them, and how you value others—your employees, your customers, your community. It’s not the 'what' of your business, but the 'how' and 'why.' Jackson: 'Hero Intensity' still sounds a little… fluffy. How is that different from just having a nice mission statement hanging in the lobby? Olivia: That’s the key distinction. It’s not about the words on the wall; it’s about what happens when those words are tested. Hayzlett creates a scale. You add your score in Operational Excellence to your score in Hero Intensity to get your 'Hero Factor.' Based on that, companies fall into categories. You have your 'Heroes' at the top, who are great at both. And you have your 'Zeroes' at the bottom. Jackson: I think I've worked for a few of those. Olivia: But the most interesting categories are the unbalanced ones. You have the 'Struggling Do-Gooders,' who have high Hero Intensity but can't make payroll. They have great values but no operational skills. And then you have the 'Bottom Liners.' Jackson: Let me guess: all profit, no people. Olivia: Exactly. They are masters of Operational Excellence, but their Hero Intensity is in the gutter. They hit their numbers, but the culture is often toxic. A classic example the book might point to is a company like GE during its period of massive, impersonal layoffs. The decisions were driven purely by the bottom line to streamline the business. Jackson: Right, the numbers look good on a spreadsheet, but the human cost is immense. So what’s a 'Hero' company look like in contrast? Olivia: The book gives a great example with a company called Allegiance Staffing. They had a 13-year relationship with a massive client, Igloo coolers. It was a huge account. But Igloo asked them to do something that just didn't align with their company's core values. Jackson: And what happened? Olivia: They walked away. They fired a multi-million dollar client after 13 years because, as the president said, "what they wanted us to do didn’t match who we were as a company." They chose their Hero Intensity over a massive chunk of Operational Excellence. That, according to Hayzlett, is a hero move. Jackson: Wow. That takes guts. It’s easy to have values when they don't cost you anything. Okay, I get the theory. But what happens when a company gets this wrong? Like, really wrong?

Olivia: It leads to what the book calls a 'culture crash.' And there is no more powerful, or frankly, more chilling story in the entire book than that of Dave Sanderson. Jackson: I feel like I should buckle up for this. Olivia: You should. Dave Sanderson was a passenger on US Airways Flight 1549. Jackson: The 'Miracle on the Hudson'? The one Captain Sully landed in the river? Olivia: That's the one. On that freezing January day in 2009, Sanderson was the last passenger off the plane. He stood on the wing in icy water, helping others, making sure everyone else got out safely. He suffered severe hypothermia and was rushed to a hospital in New Jersey. He was a hero in a national news story. Jackson: An absolutely incredible story of survival and courage. Olivia: It is. Now, while he's in the hospital, just hours after the crash, still in shock, his phone rings. It's his boss from the software company he worked for. The first thing his boss says to him is not, "Dave, are you okay?" or "We're so glad you're alive." Jackson: Oh no. Don't tell me. Olivia: His boss asked, "Are you going to Michigan next week?" Jackson: You are kidding me. He just survived a plane crash that everyone in the world was watching, and his boss is worried about a sales trip? That's... inhuman. Olivia: That was the moment. Sanderson said he realized right then and there: "I was just a number to my manager and possibly my company." His life-or-death trauma was just an inconvenient variable in their operational plan. Jackson: That is one of the most brutal management stories I have ever heard. It says everything you need to know about that company's culture. So what did he do? I hope he told them where to stick their trip to Michigan. Olivia: Believe it or not, he actually went. He was a dedicated employee. But that phone call never left him. It was the ultimate proof that his company had zero Hero Intensity. They saw him as a resource, a transaction, not a person. He was eventually promoted, but he left the company a few years later to start his own business, teaching leaders how to build cultures that actually care. Jackson: Good for him. That one question from his boss probably did more damage than the plane crash itself. It reveals the absolute bankruptcy of a culture that's all Operational Excellence and no Hero Intensity. Olivia: Exactly. It’s the perfect example of a culture failing to care. And it shows that your real values aren't revealed when things are going well. They're revealed in a crisis.

Olivia: That story shows the devastating cost of failure. But the book also explores the immense courage it takes to succeed, especially when your values are tested by something other than a plane crash—like money. Jackson: The ultimate test for a lot of businesses. Olivia: Right. Hayzlett talks about having 'non-negotiable' values. He points to a company like Chick-fil-A. Their policy of being closed on Sunday is a core part of their identity, based on the founder's Christian values. It's estimated they lose over a billion dollars in sales every year because of that decision. Jackson: They're leaving a billion dollars on the table for a value. That's a serious commitment. Olivia: Or look at the outdoor retailer REI. A few years ago, they decided to close on Black Friday, the single biggest shopping day of the year. They paid their employees to take the day off and go outside, launching the #OptOutside campaign. They sacrificed millions in revenue to live their value of prioritizing experiences over consumption. Jackson: That’s a powerful statement. But wait, isn't that a bit simplistic? To use your example, Chick-fil-A's values have also been at the center of huge public boycotts and controversy. Does the book address the fact that one person's 'heroic value' is another person's reason for protest? Olivia: That's the messy part of real-world leadership, and the book does wade into it. It argues for decisiveness. The point isn't that everyone has to agree with your values, but that you have to have the courage to stand for something. The book quotes the movie The Karate Kid, where Mr. Miyagi tells Daniel-san that walking on the right side of the road is safe, and walking on the left side is safe. But walk in the middle? "Sooner or later, get squish just like grape." Jackson: (Laughs) Okay, that's a great analogy. Indecisiveness gets you run over. Olivia: And it also touches on the complexity of inclusion, using the infamous James Damore memo at Google. Damore argued he was being silenced for his conservative views, claiming a lack of psychological safety. But many at Google argued his memo, which suggested biological reasons for gender gaps in tech, created a hostile and unsafe environment for women. Google fired him. Jackson: So who was the 'hero' there? It's a total minefield. Olivia: And that's the point. There's no easy answer. A hero leader, in Hayzlett's view, doesn't shy away from that mess. They make a choice, defend it, and deal with the consequences, rather than trying to please everyone and standing for nothing. It’s about having the courage of your convictions, even when it's complicated and costly.

Jackson: This is a lot to chew on. After all these stories—Kodak, the plane crash, billion-dollar decisions—what's the one thing a leader, or even just an employee, should take away from The Hero Factor? Olivia: I think it's that culture isn't a poster on the wall or a line in an annual report. It's the sum of a thousand tiny decisions made every day, and it's most clearly revealed in a crisis. It's what your manager does in the hours after you survive a plane crash. Jackson: That really sticks with you. Olivia: It does. The book's ultimate argument is that your 'Hero Intensity'—how you value people, the courage you show, the values you live—is not a soft skill. It's not a 'nice-to-have.' In a world where companies have a life expectancy of just 12 years, it's the most resilient, and ultimately most profitable, asset you have. Operational Excellence can get you through a good quarter, but Hero Intensity is what gets you through a decade. Jackson: It’s the difference between a company that's just operating and a company that's truly alive. Olivia: Perfectly put. And it leaves you with a really powerful question to ask yourself, whether you're a CEO or just starting your career. Jackson: What's that? Olivia: If your company, your team, or even just you, faced a true crisis tomorrow—a real test—would you act like Dave Sanderson's boss? Or would you step up and be a hero? Jackson: That's a question worth thinking about. We'd actually love to hear your stories—good or bad—about company culture in a crisis. What have you seen? Find us on our socials and share your experience. Olivia: This is Aibrary, signing off.