The change appears to be the only constant in today’s fast-changing economic landscape. Companies that are unable to keep up with the rate of change and adapt to disruptive innovation frequently fail. Leading corporates who failed to take in innovations and take a sweep into futuristic changes have faced bankruptcy as a result of incorrect market reading.
Kodak was formerly the most well-known and ground-breaking name in the world of photography and filmmaking. The company was instrumental in the development of cameras that were portable, inexpensive, transportable, and ultimately affordable to the average person. In 1998, Kodak had 1,70,000 employees and controlled 85 per cent of the global photo paper industry. But with the advent of digital technologies, the company failed to react to new technological advancements. Kodak has long held the notion that a printed image will continue to be valued and appreciated by users over a digital image. Of course, they were mistaken, but it was too late to recover their losses by the time they stopped selling classic film cameras in 2004.
When we look back, many major companies have had drastic exits from the competition and a jump into the till-now unknown technologies. HMT Watches, Bajaj Chetak Scooter, Murphy radio, Nokia mobile, Rajdoot bike, Ambassador car and the list seems endless. All these companies were the major showrunners in their market. They all failed to survive not because of poor quality products, instead, they refused to evolve and adapt to new technology.
We are stepping on the fourth revolutionary stage of the Industrial Revolution. Uber, the world’s largest Taxi chain never owned a single taxi, Airbnb became the world’s largest Hotel network without owning a single hotel. The same goes with the case of Oyo, Paytm, Ola and more. Young lawyers in the United States were concerned about IBM Watson, a software that provides expert legal guidance to its users. It is expected that 90% of youths will face unemployment within the next 10 years. So, who are the 10% of those who make it? They will be super-specialists in their field.
The world is so advanced that it made driverless cars possible. In the next 10 years, a major change in the automobile industry will be the entry of more electric vehicles into the market. By 2030, petrol and diesel cars will be seen nowhere, and no more petrol pumps, just like STD booths disappeared with the advent of mobile phones. STD booths then shifted to mobile shops and recharge shops, but Paytm and Flipkart ushered in a new era of online shopping and recharging. Paytm dominated the online financial sector with as many services, bill payment, Virtual debit and credit cards, personal loans, EMI, gold investments, stock purchase and much more benefits with rewards and cashback.
Companies that fail to respond to market changes brought on by innovation, whether due to a fixed mindset or a misreading of the market, miss out on possibilities. Companies that did not evolve eventually went out of business. These old school enterprises are at risk of losing market share and eventually going bankrupt if the changes are significant enough to affect an industry’s core business strategy. In one sentence, Evolve and adapt to survive, that’s the golden rule.
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