It might. Thousands have over the years – companies who make cameras with film, rent video cassettes, or manufacture buggy whips are blatant examples. You might be in an industry that’s susceptible to that kind of precipitous fall, but for some of you, your expiration date could be self-imposed. You might have an expiration date that’s been created by inattention.

In twenty years of consulting, I’ve seen inattention to execution, inattention to changing customer tastes, and inattention to delivery. I’ve seen others but let’s talk about those.

Inattention to execution – In the beginning, you or someone you hand-picked and trained (or someone who co-created with you) agonized over every product that went out the door. It was the physical representation of the reason you created the business and it represented your hopes for turning your initial, sacrificial investment into a thriving business. You made sure it was perfect. As the business grew, some of you were diligent in hiring, training, and creating processes to make sure every subsequent delivery of the product was just as good or even better than the first, but for some of you, the current iteration of the product is just a shell of what it was in the beginning.

Inattention to changing customer tastes – Sometimes customer tastes are changed for them by the introduction of a substitute product that is clearly superior – think flip phone to smartphone. But sometimes customer tastes evolve more slowly. A change in financial status, health, life circumstances, or the introduction of new information makes them feel differently about purchasing habits and purchasing priorities. This is undoubtedly the most stale piece of advice in this entire post, but stay close to your customer. Continually probe to find out why they buy your product – what they like, what they wish was different, what other things they’d buy from you if it was available, what they like about the buying and delivery experience, how they feel about the value proposition (both economic and experiential).

Inattention to delivery – I’m continually amazed at the number of times I’m in a place of business that is killing it at their core activity – making great food, selling great products, giving great technical advice – but are not paying attention to the little things. The sidewalk leading to the front door looks like they just drove a herd of cattle over it. The tiles in the restroom are chipped or missing. The window sills look like they were last cleaned during the Bush administration. This inattention inevitably moves towards the customer. Employees continue a conversation behind the counter while a customer waits to be served. A product promised on Tuesday is delivered Wednesday with no explanation or apology. A vendor change that slightly alters the final product is foisted on the end customer without asking for their consent.

Any of these can stamp an expiration date on your organization. Depending on the severity of the infraction, that date could be months away or years away but it doesn’t have to happen at all. I can’t guarantee your business will be around forever, but I can tell you, engineering an organization that is built to last and built to grow requires deliberate attention to some very specific core disciplines.