You know the moment.
The numbers are up. Revenue is strong. Your calendar is full of good problems to solve. The team feels confident. Maybe even unstoppable. And someone—maybe even you—thinks, “We’ve earned a breather.”
That whisper is where it starts.
Not the crash. The stall.
We call this pattern The Pride Cycle. Once you understand it, you will begin to recognize it everywhere. You will see it in the stories of fallen giants, in companies that used to lead their markets, and in your own business if you are willing to take an honest look.
The Four Stages of the Pride Cycle
The Pride Cycle is a predictable pattern that explains how companies stop growing. It is one of the core patterns explored in the Endless Customers approach. It happens not because of external threats, but because of internal shifts. It begins with adversity and often ends in irrelevance. The stages are:
Pain
This is where innovation begins. When your back is against the wall, fear becomes fuel. You try the bold ideas because the safe ones have already failed. You stop worrying about looking perfect and start focusing on earning trust.
Growth
You gain traction. The bold moves work. Leads increase. Content hits. The team gets excited. Buyers trust you more. The small things start to add up.
Pride
Confidence creeps in. But instead of doubling down, you start easing off. You think, “We’ve figured it out.” You stop asking new questions because you assume you already know the answers. You forget what it felt like to be in pain, and you start playing defense.
Complacency
This is where the stall begins. You stop doing the little things. You stop updating the scorecard. You let content creation slow down. You stop questioning the way things are done. Slowly, without realizing it, your team begins to coast.
And eventually, the market moves on without you.
How the Pride Cycle Shows Up in Real Companies
The Pride Cycle plays out every year across industries, regardless of size or sector. It shows up in businesses that once dominated their markets, with the best products, top-tier teams, and loyal customers. The common thread is not a lack of talent or resources. It is a shift in mindset.
Consider companies that had breakthrough products or unmatched reach, yet missed major market shifts. When leaders begin to believe their success is permanent, they stop doing what made them trustworthy in the first place. They stop listening to customers. They stop adapting.
They stop being uncomfortable.
Blockbuster ignored streaming. Kodak shelved digital photography. BlackBerry underestimated the touchscreen. Each of these companies had the lead. But confidence turned into rigidity, and they failed to evolve.
The Pride Cycle is not limited to corporations. It shows up in local service companies, agencies, and family businesses. A team hits its stride, then slowly trades curiosity for routine. The content that was used to connect is no longer updated. Sales teams fall back on scripts. Leadership stops asking what buyers are feeling. And one day, growth stalls. But the cause started much earlier.
This cycle does not discriminate. It sneaks in through comfort and takes root in habit. The good news is that it can be stopped, but only when it is seen.
How to Spot the Stall Before It’s Too Late
The hardest part about complacency is that it feels like success. It feels like safety. That is what makes it so dangerous.
Look for these signals:
- The Scorecard has not been updated in weeks or months.
- Content production has slowed or stopped. It has become a “someday” task.
- Leadership assumes content is “handled” rather than asking what buyers are asking now.
- You hear phrases like, “We’ve always done it this way.”
Any one of these might seem harmless. Together, they tell a clear story. Your business is drifting.
Leadership Blind Spots That Keep the Cycle Spinning
Most leadership teams do not recognize the Pride Cycle while they are in it. By the time they do, the damage is already visible. Fewer leads. Longer sales cycles. Lower close rates. A sense that something is off.
The issue doesn’t come from laziness, but rather from assumption. The belief that past success guarantees future growth. The truth is that trust must be earned again and again.
The market evolves. Buyers evolve. Your company must evolve, too.
How to Break the Cycle
Breaking the Pride Cycle requires three things: clarity, accountability, and action.
Start with clarity. Hold a focused Planning Session with your leadership team. Look at what is really happening. Are you still publishing the hard content? Are you aligned across sales and marketing? Are you speaking to what buyers care about now?
Next, bring back the Scorecard. Use it as your accountability mirror. It will tell you where you are still earning trust and where you are losing ground.
Then get outside perspective. Bring in a coach or partner who will ask the hard questions and help your team focus on the work that actually moves the needle.
And most of all, recommit to the little things. The content. The transparency. The buyer obsession. Do them when it feels urgent and do them when it does not. Especially then.
What Stage Are You In?
Take an honest look:
- Are you in Pain, trying to find your next move?
- Are you in Growth, energized and focused?
- Are you in Pride, assuming what got you here will keep working?
- Are you in Complacency, playing it safe while the market evolves?
Wherever you are, the path forward is the same. Start doing the little things again. Go back to the mindset that made you hungry. And stay there.
If you want to see exactly where your company sits in the Pride Cycle, then complete the Endless Customers Scorecard.
It will show you where you’re strong, where you’re vulnerable, and what steps to take next.
