The Kodak Moment Reimagined: Lessons on Adapting to Disruption
Balchandra Kemkar
LinkedIn Top Voice | Product Management | Corporate Banking | GenAI | Open Banking | Driving Innovation in Digital Financial Solutions | Storyteller | Industry Mentor | Views my own
As we (myself and Vishnudatta (Vishnu/Datta) Harihara Keshavamurthy ) share our views on business agility by embracing change, we are changing the way we present our views too!
Disclaimers:
1. These are our personal views
2. We have not owned/run businesses on our own to give these inputs
3. We are still not at leadership level to have experienced some of these situations directly
But that's the whole point, if we can see this coming, it shouldn’t be that difficult for business leadership to adopt!
In the late 20th century, Kodak was synonymous with photography. The phrase “Kodak Moment” captured the essence of life’s most precious memories. But ironically, Kodak’s own “moment” became a cautionary tale. While the world transitioned to digital photography, Kodak clung to film, missing the chance to pivot and becoming a symbol of how businesses can be blindsided by innovation.
Fast forward to today, and we’re witnessing a similar disruption. AI-generated images are threatening platforms like Shutterstock, just as digital photography disrupted Kodak. What’s even more fascinating is that AI doesn’t just “capture” images/videos — it creates them. By leveraging advanced algorithms and training on vast datasets, AI can generate images that mimic real-world photography or create entirely new artistic styles.
The takeaway?
Bhagavad Gita showed the path and said, only change is constant and today, to embrace change it is also important to have the right mindset, skillset and ecosystem to constantly identify the change and be agile enough to be sustainable in business.
How Businesses Need to Pivot
When disruption looms, businesses face a stark choice: deny, resist, or evolve. Those who evolve don’t just survive; they thrive by reimagining their role in the value chain.
Step 1: Identify Your Core Strength
Kodak’s downfall wasn’t just about missing the digital wave; it was also about misunderstanding its core strength. Kodak wasn’t just in the business of selling film — it was in the business of helping people preserve memories. If they had focused on this core mission, they might have led the digital photography revolution instead of being left behind.
Similarly, businesses must avoid chasing trends that don’t align with their core competencies. Take Xerox, for example. They pioneered many of the technologies that became the backbone of modern computing but failed to capitalize on them because they saw themselves as a copier company, not a technology innovator.
In the banking software domain, cloud native microservices based newer players threatened to disrupt legacy players, however the likes of Oracle have played to their strength to become the only hyperscaler to offer its own banking dedicated SaaS and composable banking by hollowing out core.
Step 2: Be Part of the Value Chain
Companies like Shutterstock don’t need to fear AI; they need to embrace it. By integrating AI tools, they can offer customers hybrid solutions, such as customizable AI-generated content paired with authentic human artistry. Becoming part of the disruption rather than resisting it is key.
Step 3: Learn from Financial Services
Financial services provide a compelling example of industries that have embraced disruption:
These companies disrupted themselves before someone else could, positioning themselves as industry leaders.
Step 4: Be open-minded to pivot around change
One great example here is how Saudi Arabia and UAE have consciously made efforts to pivot around tourism and sustainable energy by reducing their dependency on fossil fuel based economy.
Despite being a global leader for decades, Oracle is open to collaborate with Microsoft and NVDIA to bring more synergy and to stay ahead of the curve and similarly between Maruti Suzuki and Toyota Motors collaborating with sharing of technology and joint go-to-market strategies.
The Nature of Disruption: It’s Not Your Competitor, It’s the Next Paradigm
Disruption rarely comes head-on; it sneaks in sideways. The biggest threats often come from outside your industry, challenging not just your business model but your entire way of thinking.
Examples of Paradigm Shifts:
Why Companies Fail to See Disruption Coming
1️⃣ Success Blindness: Being too focused on current competitors and existing success can make you miss new threats.
2️⃣ Comfort in Existing Business Models: Incremental innovation feels safer than taking bold, transformative steps, an outside-in mindset often helps provide a realistic picture than an inside-out
3️⃣ Over-Reliance on Current Customers: Listening solely to current customers can make you blind to emerging markets or unmet needs.
4️⃣ Leadership styles: It is all but natural for humans to have ego which manifests in decisions being taken by positional power than being open and rational. It is better to avoid such pitfalls, be open to spot talent and allow them to thrive. Work culture that breeds innovation and is meritocratic results in producing more intrapreneurs which itself is a good way to tackle future competition – a very important business strategy, if you know what we mean by that!
The Real Lesson: Your Competitor May Not Be a Competitor at All
Your biggest competitor isn’t always in your industry:
The lesson? Disruption isn’t about better competition; it’s about paradigm shifts that redefine customer expectations.
Conclusion: Don’t wait for your Kodak Moment .
Today, businesses in every industry are at risk of their own Kodak Moment. The next big disruption may not look like your current competition. It could come from technology, shifting customer behavior, or entirely new industries and there is no time to be complacent.
The question is: Will you see it coming?
Don’t just look at your competitors. Look at the broader shifts in technology, customer behavior, and industry dynamics. The next Kodak moment isn’t just a memory; it could be your business unless you learn to adapt before it’s too late.
Last but not the least, how can we not talk aboiut AI – please ask AI, if AI is going to disrupt your business, no pun intended!