A business leader’s management style has profound implications for his or her firm’s ability to create and sustain a productive organizational culture. Certain times demand specific management orientations to produce and sustain thriving businesses, and great CEOs and founders are skilled at accurately assessing when to adapt. For many, however, this adaptation process became an almost impossible challenge. This was certainly apparent for both Henry Ford (Ford Motor Company) and David Sarnoff (Radio Corporation of America). Both individuals made tremendous contributions to business and society during their early decades as the heads of their respective firms. Ford’s ability to create a highly efficient production operation was in no small way related to his dogmatic and hard-nosed management style. Believing that his most significant adviser should be himself, Ford failed to recognize the transformational changes that were occurring both within the automobile industry and the buying public.

Only one generation later, Sarnoff would repeat some of the same blunders as Ford. By understanding how to tap into the power of the radio and then television, Sarnoff was able to build RCA into one of the most formidable and competitive companies in the world. His constant focus on technology and the implications of that technology enabled RCA to make dramatic leaps in its products and services (especially through its ownership of NBC). Technology reigned in the early days of both media, but as it became more prevalent, the content for these applications took center stage. Sarnoff was unable and seemingly unwilling to recognize this shift. He was also unwilling to recognize the technical superiority of others in the industry (especially the electronics industry in Japan). Instead of building on the success of others, he doggedly pursued a flawed technological investment path. This blind faith in technology eventually sealed the fate of RCA -- a fate that has made the once heralded brand an almost unknown entity today.

Both Ford and Sarnoff failed to adjust their management style during pivotal moments in their company’s history. This led to a major challenge to Ford’s dominance in the automobile industry (being eclipsed by General Motors in the 1920s) and the eventual anonymity of the RCA brand.

To be successful over the long term, CEOs and founders need to understand and manage constantly changing contextual forces such as consumer demands as well as evolving technology. In today’s market, Steve Jobs is an interesting example of an individual who has been able to use technology to drive a rebirth and reinvention of Apple. Unlike his first stint at Apple, Jobs is using technology as an enabler for compelling consumer products instead of using technology for technology sake.

What CEOs do you see managing change well? Who else has learned from Sarnoff and Ford what not to do?

Read all of Tony Mayo's "21st Century Leadership" posts.