The Enemy Within

1. Opening Hook

“The gravest harm often does not come from outside enemies but from within the very systems meant to protect us.”

Richard Jewell was a security guard who discovered a bomb at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and helped save lives. Yet instead of being honoured, he was vilified. Investigators and the press branded him a suspect, and his reputation was destroyed before the truth emerged. Clint Eastwood’s excellent film Richard Jewell captures this tragedy vividly and serves as a cultural refresher. His story is a brutal reminder that the gravest harm often does not come from outside enemies but from within the very systems meant to protect us.

Organisations suffer the same fate. It is not always competitors who cripple performance. Often it is mistrust, bureaucracy and corrosive incentives inside. The enemy within is harder to see, but it is more devastating than any market threat.

2. Internal Paranoia

“When suspicion replaces trust, alignment collapses.”

Modern companies claim to value talent, yet many operate with deep suspicion of their own engineers. Managers second-guess technical judgement, product owners impose arbitrary deadlines, and governance layers assume the worst of delivery teams. We have all seen this in practice: engineers forced to fill endless status trackers, teams paralysed by compliance theatre, or innovation suffocated by layers of sign-off that add no real safety.

Think of Wells Fargo’s scandalous account-creation pressure, Boeing’s 737 MAX certification shortcuts, the Theranos deception built on secrecy and fear, or Facebook’s endless review committees slowing real security improvements. The result is wasted energy, defensive behaviour and a climate of fear. When suspicion replaces trust, alignment collapses. Instead of accelerating, organisations grind to a halt under the weight of internal paranoia.

The Richard Jewell affair shows what happens when collaborative systems, originally designed to grow from the best of us, instead become instruments of harm. The same dynamic plays out when companies cannibalise their own credibility. By treating their experts as suspects, they weaken their only defence against real external threats.

3. The Darwin’s Church Principle

“It can take only one person to freeze and destroy the system.”

Biologist David Sloan Wilson, in Darwin’s Cathedral, explains how groups survive and thrive by subordinating ego and self-interest to the collective good. In evolutionary terms, groups that suppress vanity and sociopathy prosper, while those that indulge them collapse.

Organisations face the same law. When individuals seek attention, play politics, or chase vanity metrics, they undermine the very system that sustains them. It can take only one person to freeze and destroy the system. History offers examples: Nick Leeson’s hidden losses brought down Barings Bank, Elizabeth Holmes’s secrecy and deception collapsed Theranos, and Kweku Adoboli’s rogue trading cost UBS billions. Modern corporate cultures too often reward these behaviours. The loudest voices gain attention, personal brands matter more than craft, and symbolic gestures replace meaningful outcomes. It is precisely what Wilson warns against: ego and self-interest poisoning the group.

Successful organisations mirror evolutionary success. They bind members together with trust, clarity and shared responsibility. The collective wins when individuals commit to something greater than themselves.

4. The False Gods

“Appearances replace delivery, and theatre replaces outcomes.”

Too many companies worship false gods. Pop culture fads, shallow engagement rituals and gamified rewards masquerade as progress. They create surface energy but no substance. Like the Jewell case, they prioritise a convenient narrative over truth. The result is a culture where appearances matter more than delivery, and where outcomes are replaced by theatre.

This indulgence is dangerous. When belief in shallow rituals replaces commitment to real outcomes, organisations reward ego and undermine excellence. The enemy within thrives because it hides behind culture slogans and motivational gimmicks.

5. The Only Acceptable Values

“Transparency and commitment are not optional. They are foundations.”

There are only two values that matter, and they cannot be compromised.

• Transparency: removes suspicion, prevents paranoia and creates the trust necessary for performance. Hidden agendas and opaque incentives must be destroyed.
• Commitment: binds individuals to the mission, above ego and self-interest. It means disagreeing openly when needed, but once a decision is made, committing fully to its execution. Commitment is the antidote to vanity, ensuring that effort translates into collective gain.

Consider how Toyota built its reputation for reliability. Engineers were trusted to halt production lines if they spotted a defect. Transparency and commitment were non-negotiable, and they created a culture that turned quality into a competitive advantage. This is the opposite of the enemy within. It shows how trust and responsibility can scale.

Anything else is indulgence. Transparency and commitment are not optional extras. They are the foundation of lasting performance. Every other belief, fad or gimmick belongs to the enemy within.

6. Closing Strike

“Organisations do not fall because of what the world does to them. They fall because of what they do to themselves.”

The Richard Jewell story was tragic because it showed how a system can consume its own protector. In business, the same fate awaits organisations that indulge suspicion, ego and shallow culture. The real enemy is not the competitor outside, but the rot inside. Leaders must choose: defend the mission through transparency and commitment, or watch their own system destroy itself. Organisations do not fall because of what the world does to them. They fall because of what they do to themselves.