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The Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training.

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"The history of the failure of war can almost be summed up in two words: too late." Douglas MacArthur's comment leaped out of my memory as I read a story in the Wall Street Journal this week titled: "Downfall of Zany Broadcom Co-Founder Offers a Lesson for Corporate Boards."

Henry T. Nicholas III co-founded Broadcom in 1991 with Henry Samueli. With Mr. Nicholas as CEO the company rode the dot-com boom to great heights. In August 2000, its stock was trading north of $170.

By August 2001 it had fallen to below $30. Then it went below $20. In late 2002 it was trading below $10. Mr. Nicholas resigned as CEO in January 2003.

He has now been indicted on two kinds of charges. There are the charges of rigging options. And criminal charges for buying and distributing drugs.

Those are serious and fascinating charges. But they're not as interesting as what's come out about Nicholas' leadership style or the lack of oversight by the Broadcom board.

Part of the issue is pure oversight. Here was a CEO who called staff meetings at 2 AM. Since he was an insomniac, it seemed like a good time to him.

Here was a CEO who blasted out heavy metal music at trade shows. Board members didn't like it, but said nothing.

Here was a CEO who fostered and reveled in a cult that grew around him. Criticism was out. Celebrating Nicholas' eccentricities was in.

Sure, things were going well. The stock was going up, up, up. The company made great products and was an employer of choice for top engineers. But no one, in public or apparently in private, raised questions about Nicholas' management style or what seems to have been increasingly erratic behavior.

Which brings us to the issue of timing. When is it "too late?"

Most discussions of ethics and oversight imply that the line between acceptable and unacceptable is a clear bright line. Sometimes it is, especially in hindsight.

But often the line is between acceptable and questionable. And crossing it is like driving from one state to another with no sign to mark the boundary.

When is it "too late?" That's a hard call to make sometimes. In Nicholas' case there were things that Board members didn't like but didn't speak up about, ostensibly because Mr. Nicholas and Mr. Samueli owned 60 percent of the voting stock between them. But that didn't make the issues go away.

When is it "too late?" When performance starts to slip there may still be time. When you start to hear whispers about weird behavior there may still be time. When communication starts to break down there may still be time.

Don't hesitate. Problems rarely fix themselves. Left alone they usually keep getting more serious.

What Douglas MacArthur said about war is true about business. Failure can often be summed up in the words, "too late."

Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.

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Wally Bock has helped people learn to be great bosses for more than a quarter century. His latest book, Performance Talk: The One-on-One Part of Leadership, makes learning key leadership principles almost effortless by teaching through a story and providing lists of resources for further growth.

Click here to find out more about Wally's coaching services.

For weekly tips and resources pointers, check our Wally Bock's Three Star Leadership Letter.

Click here to find out more about having Wally speak to your company or convention.