Rethinking the Conventional
Maintaining the status quo and clinging to outdated business models can be perilous in an era of rapid technological change.
Imagine a world where your industry's biggest competitor wasn't the company across town, but a revolutionary idea that disrupts everything you thought you knew. This was the case with video stores with the advent of streaming services. The video rental market relied on physical stores and late fees for decades. However, the revolutionary idea of online streaming services like Netflix disrupted everything. Convenience, lower costs, and a wider selection on-demand completely changed how people consume movies and TV shows, leaving the likes of Blockbuster and VideoEzy in the dust.
For over a century, companies like Kodak dominated the photography industry with film cameras and photo processing. The rise of smartphones with high-quality cameras disrupted everything. Suddenly, everyone had a camera in their pocket, could edit and share photos instantly, and didn't need expensive film or processing. Kodak, despite attempts to adapt, struggled to compete with this revolutionary idea.
For centuries, encyclopedias like Britannica reigned supreme as the source of factual information. However, the internet and the revolutionary idea of a free, collaboratively edited online encyclopedia like Wikipedia changed everything. Wikipedia offered constantly updated information, accessibility, and a wider range of topics, disrupting Britannica's dominance.
Taxis were the go-to option for getting around for decades. Then came ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft. These revolutionary ideas offered lower fares, easier access through smartphone apps, and more transparency in pricing. The taxi industry, slow to adapt, struggled to compete with the convenience and efficiency of ride sharing.
Travel agencies played a central role in planning vacations for a long time. However, online booking platforms like Expedia and Booking.com disrupted everything. These revolutionary ideas allowed travelers to compare prices, book flights and hotels directly, and access a wider range of options, all from their computers. Traditional travel agencies faced a significant challenge adapting to this shift.
In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, success often hinges on the ability to think outside the box, challenge long-held assumptions, and find new perspectives that can lead to groundbreaking solutions. This is where the concepts of reframing and disruptive innovation come into play, offering powerful tools for businesses to remain competitive and drive growth.
Reframing is a strategic approach that involves changing the way we think about a problem, product, or service. It's about challenging conventional wisdom and questioning the assumptions that have long guided our decision-making processes. By adopting a fresh perspective, organisations can identify new opportunities, create new markets or customer segments, develop innovative products or services, and solve complex problems that have previously seemed intractable.
The power of reframing lies in its ability to break free from the constraints of traditional thinking. It encourages us to step back, examine our biases and preconceptions, and consider alternative viewpoints. This process can be particularly valuable in industries where established norms and practices have become entrenched, potentially stifling innovation and preventing companies from adapting to changing market conditions.
Closely linked to the concept of reframing is disruptive innovation, a term coined by Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen. Disruptive innovation refers to a process by which a smaller company with limited resources can create a new market or disrupt an existing one by introducing a product or service that is more affordable, more accessible, more convenient, or more sustainable than the offerings of established market leaders.
Disruptive innovations often involve identifying unmet customer needs, leveraging technology or business model innovations, creating new value networks, and ultimately displacing incumbent firms that have become complacent or too focused on serving their existing customer base.
The business landscape is replete with examples of companies that have successfully leveraged disruptive innovation to upend entire industries, from Uber, and Airbnb, to Netflix. Here in New Zealand menswear brand Barkers underwent a drastic business turnaround at the beginning of the decade. This involved appointing key roles to oversee the turnaround management, selling off all legacy products or non-core assets, and creating entirely new clothing lines. Even banks can change, BNZ, for example, shifted many transactions to the digital sphere, which allowed it to scale back from 173 physical banks to 161 in the space of a year. Similarly, Spark launched an innovation studio to help Kiwi businesses harness the power of emerging technologies such as 5G.
These disruptors share a common thread, they changed existing business models, challenged long-held assumptions about how their respective industries should operate, and leveraged technology to create new value propositions that resonated with consumers.
Both reframing and disruptive innovation require a willingness to challenge assumptions, think creatively, and take calculated risks. They demand a culture that embraces experimentation, accepts failure as a learning opportunity, and encourages diversity of thought and perspective.
For established organisations, this can be a daunting prospect. Entrenched processes, risk aversion, and a focus on protecting existing revenue streams can make it difficult to embrace the kind of disruptive thinking demanded.
To succeed in today's dynamic business environment, companies must cultivate a mindset of continuous reinvention and a willingness to adapt their approach to problem-solving. They must actively seek out opportunities to challenge conventional wisdom, identify unmet customer needs, and leverage emerging technologies and business models to create new value propositions.
In a world where change is the only constant, reframing and disruptive innovation offer powerful tools for organisations to stay ahead of the curve. By embracing these concepts, companies can break free from the constraints of traditional thinking, identify new opportunities, and create innovative solutions that disrupt existing markets and drive long-term growth and competitiveness.
While the path of reframing and disruptive innovation may be challenging, the rewards for those who embrace it can be transformative, enabling businesses to not only survive but thrive in an ever-evolving landscape.
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