Subscribe to the Three Star Leadership Blog

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.

Request your free copy of Wally's Special Report: Managing Headcount in a Downturn.

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

Find out more about having Wally speak to your company or convention.

Find out more about Wally's coaching services.

These days the financial news often reminds me of the plague-era call to "Bring out your dead!" Story after story tells of the demise of this or that famous store or brand.

There are so many of them that hardly any make an impact anymore. But every now and then the day's news brings a headline comes like a punch in the stomach. Yesterday was one of those days.

"Crystal, china maker Waterford Wedgwood collapses" trumpeted the AP. The lead was a stark obituary notice.

"Waterford Wedgwood PLC, the maker of classic china and crystal, filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday after attempts to restructure the struggling business or find a buyer failed."

Last night we ate our soup supper from Wedgwood Countryware bowls. I've always been fascinated by both the products and the story of Wedgwood.

Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) was everything you expect the ideal entrepreneur to be. He was the innovator who revolutionized his industry and made discoveries that earned him a place in the Royal Society.

He was a savvy marketer and brand builder before either of those terms was in use. In 1761 he presented Queen Charlotte with a breakfast set to honor the birth of her first son. The delighted Queen bought an entire dinner service. Wedgwood, in turn, named it Queen's Ware.

When Wedgwood died he left a fortune in money, plus the designs on which generations of his descendants would live comfortably. One of them, a grandson, was Charles Darwin.

By the mid-Twentieth Century, family members seemed more interested in living off the proceeds of the business than having much to do with it operationally. Sir Arthur Bryan became the first non-family chairman in 1968.

In 1986 Wedgwood was acquired by Waterford Crystal to form the present company. They were taken public. They brought in "experts" from the likes of Macy's who advocated brand extensions, and name designers like Vera Wang.

Some production was allocated to subcontractors in Eastern Europe. Production was moved offshore to Indonesia. Today, only a third of the company's workforce is in the UK or Ireland.

There are some major trends at work here. People are buying less of the dinnerware that Wedgwood is good at making. Financial times are tough. But that's clearly not the whole story.

In the wake of bankruptcy, the finger-pointing has begun. Family members blame management. Sir Bryan blames the board. Management blames the economy and those benighted consumers who don't understand that dinnerware made in Indonesia is still Wedgwood.

Numerous blog comments say that outsourcing killed the company. Or maybe it was a lack of quality. Or, perhaps, it was too many lines and not enough tradition. Many people say they quit buying Wedgwood, when it no longer said, "Made in England" on the back.

Some observers think the company failed because it abandoned its heritage and was seduced by modernity. Other observers think that it failed because it was mired in the past and unable to seize the opportunities of the present.

I think it's a bit of both. I think this is a company that failed because too many of its leaders for too long couldn't figure out what it means to mate a strong heritage with new opportunities. I think Josiah Wedgwood might have found a way.

Additional Resources

Brian Dolan wrote a well-reviewed biography of Josiah Wedgwood titled Wedgwood: the First Tycoon.

My own fascination with Wedgwood started with Nancy Koehn's excellent Brand New: How Entrepreneurs Earned Consumers' Trust from Wedgwood to Dell.