Whether it is in business, sports or non-profit, success seems to be a mix of smarts and some intangibles which are hard to define. It can be a lot like trying to catch lightning in a bottle. That is why I get so blown away when a group seems to throw it away thinking they can just get it again. You see this with Rock Bands who get full of themselves. They go start solo careers which sometimes work and other times flop. How many large companies decide to go a different direction only to close the doors a few years later? Mind you, not all of this applies, for example some companies don’t improve their product so someone else comes along and builds something better. In sports teams usually have a few years of health and youth before they have to start replacing players. The other side of this can be that in some cases overwhelming success is probably unsustainable. At some point the other shoe has to drop. The point is when you have it, it seems stupid to walk away or try and fix what isn’t broken. Perhaps success itself breeds discontent or perhaps it makes people think more highly of themselves than they should. Whatever the case, it seems foolish not to ride a magical wave of success as long as it lets you. I think the 49ers are about to learn this lesson.