<b>Innovation III: The "Innovator's Dilemma".</b><br> No c...

Assad Ebrahim - 2014-05-08T02:15:44+0000 - Updated: 2014-05-08T03:48:32+0000

Innovation III: The "Innovator's Dilemma".
No company or individual is entirely immune from the Innovator's Dilemma. We might say that success carries within it the seeds of decline.

There are two useful perspectives on why this is:

Richard Hamming: "When you are [successful] it is hard to work on [so-called] small problems. [You] try [instead] to get the big thing right off. [And you] fail to continue to plant the little acorns from which the mighty oak trees grow." [1]@Bell Labs, You & Your Research

James Whittacker: "Successful companies become beholden to the products that made them successful. There is feature iteration, maintenance, operations, support... Being successful signs you up to a profitable business rhythm where [further] innovation plays, frankly, an optional role." [2]@Google,@ Microsoft, http://bit.ly/1fWOYa1

An anti-dote? Keep the simple questions fresh. And don't stop working on fundamentals.

Bob McClure - 2014-09-15T19:25:00+0000

However, as you keep working on fundamentals (or your successful things), dedicate energy to exploring new spin-off or tangential ideas and opportunities. Realize that if you are successful, someone else can utilize your success to build their success, thereby diminishing your 'market" share. If you can differentiate yourself by either enhancing your "product" or finding other ways to either link to your client OR to link your product to new clients - the more successful you will be.