From innovator to litigator. That about sums up the last 132 years for Eastman Kodak (EK). Had it not been for Kodak, it is unlikely I would have developed (pun intended) an interest in photography, and I’m sure that’s the case for millions and millions of us. Harvard case studies have been written about Kodak, and I’m sure there will be many more books detailing the rise and fall of this formally mighty company. Was it the inability to acknowledge that many of your company’s own innovations might totally cannibalize your bread and butter business? Some people argue that EK simply was afraid to decimate their film business, so they never aggressively moved into, and marketed digital. Was it the inability to appreciate the incredible pace of change and how quickly consumers will accept and embrace something they didn’t even know existed just a few years earlier? Or was it simply that innovators must continue to push the envelope and anticipate what the consumer will want, long before the consumer even knows that it’s a possibility. Think Steve Jobs and Apple. As companies get big and bigger, it becomes increasingly difficult to accelerate the pace of innovation and creativity, especially for a 130 year old company. Continue reading
