Lessons In Business. #Disruption
Having consulted with businesses for over 25 years I’ve been privileged to be part of some amazing meetings - around new products, new business models, strategy, marketing, and finance, and the one takeout for me is that it’s important to have a good facilitator - someone to lead the conversation, who navigates and gives everyone a voice.
This brings me to “Kodak Moments”
There are few corporate blunders as staggering as Kodak, they couldn’t commit to steering the company in the direction of digital photography, and yet it was a technology they invented!
The executive team and board believed Kodak was a film-based business, its model and investment continued on this path for decades. This strategic failure was the direct cause of its decline. Kodak’s history offers sage advice for businesses grappling with disruptive technologies because it’s important for any business - however big or small - to avoid a Kodak moment.
So rewind to 1975. Kodak invented the first digital camera, a filmless photography technology, but Kodak’s board believed its core business was film and photographic chemicals, so the digital technology wasn't perceived as an opportunity.
What I have learnt over 25-years is that incumbents in any market should seize disruptive opportunities. Kodak had the capabilities compared to the new kids on the block like Sony who were racing to replicate and successfully launched the
Sony Mavica in 1981. Kodak had access to markets, commanding a 90% share of voice, technologies, and a healthy balance sheet.
Kodak soon became caught up in a perfect storm of not only technological change but also social and economic change. The real disruption occurred when cameras merged with phones, and people’s behaviour shifted from printing pictures to posting them on social media and by 2012 the long tail stung; and it hurt. Kodak had missed the opportunity it had created. What they failed to recognise was that online photo sharing was the new business, not a way to expand the printing business.
1989 was the watershed moment. The Kodak board of directors had a chance to change their course - Colby Chandler, the CEO, retired. His replacement came down to Phil Samper and Kay R. Whitmore.
Whitmore represented the traditional film business, he had a technical background and extensive experience in manufacturing, Samper had extensive experience in marketing and a deep appreciation for digital technology. Whitmore boldly stated in the New York Times that he would “make sure the company stayed closer to its core business of film and photographic chemicals.”
The rest is history.
So the lesson here is that while historically Kodak’s culture had been built on innovation and change it became complacent. So how do we avoid complacency - have some innovators on your team, give them a voice and enough volume to be heard and listen. Challenge the status quo. It’s these voices that will continue to fuel urgency and embrace change; if you give them permission to lead, they could affect positive change.
Cliche as it sounds, ask yourself, what business are you in today? Don’t answer the question with technologies, product offerings, or categories. Instead, really identify the problem you’re solving, what are you solving for your customers? Have a conversation with your innovative thinkers and don’t be afraid to challenge yourself and find where your opportunity and disruption converge. More reading here about reframing your mindset - Forbes.