Kill the Company: A Bold Strategy for HR and Business Transformation

As I dive deeper into my Strategic Change Management course at Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management, one concept made me pause and reflect, not as a student, but as an HR strategist and organizational development professional.

It’s called “Kill the Company.”

At first glance, the idea sounds counterintuitive, even radical. Why would we imagine destroying the very organization we work so hard to grow? But that’s precisely the point. This exercise isn’t about actual destruction; it’s about developing the agility needed to survive and thrive in today’s fast-changing business environment.

In Lisa Bodell’s method, leaders and teams step into the shoes of their fiercest competitors and ask:

• If we wanted to put ourselves out of business, where would we start?

• What vulnerabilities would we exploit?

• Which innovations could render us obsolete?

This approach forces organizations to reflect deeply, spot weaknesses they might otherwise ignore, and reinvent themselves before the market does it for them.

🛠 What is “Kill the Company” – and Why Does It Matter?

Coined by futurist and innovation expert Lisa Bodell, Kill the Company is a bold thought experiment designed to jolt organizations out of their comfort zones.

Instead of brainstorming ways to grow, teams are challenged to think like disruptors:

What would an agile startup do to make us irrelevant? What rules, practices, or assumptions hold us back?

This mindset shift is especially critical today, when 52% of companies in the Fortune 500 (1955) no longer exist because they failed to adapt.

A vivid HR example: Imagine HR leaders asking their teams to wear the hat of a competitor, what policies would they copy? Where would they poach talent? Which rigid practices would they exploit? In one organization, this exercise surfaced outdated onboarding practices that were pushing new hires away within 90 days, something competitors could easily leverage in recruitment campaigns.

In one notable case, a global insurance company applied Kill the Company in a leadership offsite. The exercise surfaced over 100 “hidden vulnerabilities” across operations, customer experience, and technology. The team realized their legacy systems were their Achilles heel; something new digital entrants could exploit. Within 12 months, they launched a modernization initiative and improved customer retention by 18%.

Similarly, Netflix’s pivot from DVD rentals to streaming and Apple’s move from iPods to iPhones are examples of companies effectively killing their own models before competitors could.

As Bodell observes, “Organizations are addicted to complexity. By creating space, eliminating outdated processes and assumptions, leaders unlock a culture where innovation thrives.”

So why should HR care?

Because HR leaders are the architects of culture and change, uniquely positioned to embed this disruptive yet reflective mindset into the organizational DNA.

This is where the five hallmarks of agility become vital.

From an HR Perspective: The Five Hallmarks of Agility

This tool resonates strongly with HR because it touches on five core principles critical for building future-ready organizations:

1️⃣ Diversity: Bringing together cross-functional, diverse voices in Kill the Company workshops introduces varied lenses. Diverse thinking uncovers blind spots that homogeneous groups often miss.

Lisa Bodell emphasizes: “The leaders who embrace diversity of thought not just demographic diversity, create cultures where unconventional ideas flourish.”

2️⃣ Psychological Safety: Teams must feel safe to voice uncomfortable truths. HR leaders play a key role in fostering environments where bold, even critical ideas are encouraged; without fear of repercussions.

As Bodell puts it: “Most organizations ask for change but resist it in practice. True agility starts when leaders are willing to be challenged.”

3️⃣ Personal Accountability: This exercise makes every individual, not just leadership, responsible for identifying vulnerabilities and contributing to solutions.

4️⃣ Reflective & Analytical Decision-Making: Kill the Company encourages double-loop learning: questioning deeply held assumptions, not just tweaking processes.

5️⃣ Variation, Selection & Retention (VSR): Teams learn to identify outdated practices to eliminate, new behaviors to scale, and innovations to embed in culture.

🔧 Making It Practical: Steps for HR Leaders

1. Start small: Run a pilot workshop with 5–7 participants tasked with identifying “assassination points” in a psychologically safe space.

2. Debrief with reflection frameworks like Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle or Argyris & Schön’s Double-Loop Learning.

3. Track outcomes: Within 6 months, monitor process simplification, time-to-market improvements, and employee engagement in innovation (aim for > 20% improvement).

4. Scale strategically: Integrate this exercise into annual strategic planning and leadership development programs.

Real-World Example

At a global financial services firm, Kill the Company uncovered that 50% of legacy products no longer added value. By sunsetting these and focusing on customer-centric innovations, they achieved a 25% increase in operational efficiency and revitalized their market position.

“We don’t just build companies to operate, we must train them to disrupt themselves. As HR architects, our greatest contribution is designing the experience of transformation, not just staffing it.” - Hassan Tirmizi, FCIPD, CMgr FCMI, FCPHR

Let’s Discuss:

Have you ever tried a similar thought experiment in your organization?

How might Kill the Company reshape your thinking as a leader?

Hassan Tirmizi, FCIPD, CMgr FCMI, FCPHR, an OD&D Maverick and Global HR Thought Leader, brings over two decades of rich, multi-cultural experience in transforming organizations, developing people, and reimagining workplace cultures.

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