What is it? A Whiplash Crash happens when leadership jumps around trying the latest fads in marketing, leadership or customer interaction. It is exhausting and numbing to everyone impacted by this.

Anyone remember Foursquare, where a customer checked into the businesses she visited and the person who checked in the most was the mayor? This was going to be a great way to track customer data and reward frequent guests.

Anyone over Pokemon Go yet?

Anyone try to duplicate the Ice Bucket Challenge sensation with similar success? That happened years ago, by the way.

A Whiplash Crash can send departments into panic mode to capture on the latest and greatest, and frequently, by the time they have the new product or campaign to roll out, the fad is already waning. Frustration ensues and resources are wasted.

Leaders causing a Whiplash Crash will also feel the impact of less respect and willingness to chase the next thing from critical employees. It can become the new version of playing Wolf. Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice…

Leadership must realize that chasing fads are not effective in gaining sustained success.

As technology gets faster so do fads. Some fads seem to be gone before they actually arrive! Yes, I talk about how businesses must be agile, but there is a difference.

Agility isn’t chaos.

Being agile is critical in this business climate but that doesn’t mean try everything under the sun to see what sticks. It means once a well-thought out decision is made, implementation is efficient and timely. Seamless transitions are important to growth and success for your business.

Sustained growth is much easier on your staff and more successful than chasing the next best thing. Remember, transitions happen all the time in business, and that’s a good thing. Just be careful to know the difference between an agile shift and a Whiplash Crash.