Offense: Politics, personal riffs and disputes over compensation undid Michael "Ego" Eisner's reign at Walt Disney.

Classic Stumbles: Eisner's ego did great things for him when he worked with Barry Diller at Paramount , and when he first took the helm at Disney and collaborated with Frank Wells and Jeffrey Katzenberg. He partnered with people who compensated for his shortcomings. Over time, Eisner began to believe it was he, and no one else, who could provide the creative genius to drive Disney's success. He even began to appear on "The Wonderful World of Disney" as the host, a place previously reserved for only Walt Disney himself. His personal riffs with Katzenberg disrupted his focus on building the kingdom. Feuding with Walt's nephew Roy Disney was the final straw.

Recovery: When we get fixated on colleagues as competitors -- how they compare to us, what they're doing, who they're doing it with, when they're doing it, or what their next move might be -- our business IQ drops. Keep your focus on building something greater than yourself, not internal "kingdom building."