One key lesson I learned from this course is that companies focusing on both sustaining and disruptive innovations can become successful industry leaders. In Chapter 7 of The Innovator 's Dilemma, Harvard professor Clayton Christensen expounds upon the power of disruptive innovation, which arises in what industry incumbents have overlooked as “unattractive or inconsequential markets” (Christensen). These types of innovations can, over time, expand and capture more market share, displacing titans of the industry and/or creating new markets. Sustaining innovations, contrarily, do not affect current industry configurations, but instead focus on “listening to the needs of customers in the existing markets, and creating products that satisfy their
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No matter which product I choose to focus on, I will have to ensure it is aligned with my business goal – to assist in anxiety management for the betterment of consumers. If the innovation is not clearly aligned, then I will have to stop focusing on its growth, as it will detract from the core purpose of my business. For instance, Cisco’s acquisition of the Flip video camera was always questionable. The technology giant was known for its enterprise networking services, and was attempting to move into consumer products. The iPhone, however, ended up disrupting the mini-video camera, and Cisco quickly shut down this part of the business – implicitly admitting they had made a mistake. There has been significant evidence Cisco’s move into unaligned new markets has deteriorated market share and slowed sales in its core business. Having dominated its fundamental markets involving IP routing and switching, Cisco realized jumping into the consumer products industry without aligning their strategies and products with their business goals was detracting from their success. Thus, CEO John Chambers determined that, moving forward, Cisco’s consumer targeting would “align operations in support of our network-centric platform strategy.” Southwest Airlines also exemplifies how disruptive innovations require clear business alignment. The company’s purpose is to “connect people to what’s important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel.” With an emphasis on “having fun” for their employees, short distance flights, domination at secondary airports, a quick 25-minute turnaround time, unassigned seating, and a “bags fly free” policy, Southwest Airlines truly established a reputation for reliability, low-cost, and friendly customer service. Their disruptive innovation’s success was ultimately due to their lucid focus on their
No matter which product I choose to focus on, I will have to ensure it is aligned with my business goal – to assist in anxiety management for the betterment of consumers. If the innovation is not clearly aligned, then I will have to stop focusing on its growth, as it will detract from the core purpose of my business. For instance, Cisco’s acquisition of the Flip video camera was always questionable. The technology giant was known for its enterprise networking services, and was attempting to move into consumer products. The iPhone, however, ended up disrupting the mini-video camera, and Cisco quickly shut down this part of the business – implicitly admitting they had made a mistake. There has been significant evidence Cisco’s move into unaligned new markets has deteriorated market share and slowed sales in its core business. Having dominated its fundamental markets involving IP routing and switching, Cisco realized jumping into the consumer products industry without aligning their strategies and products with their business goals was detracting from their success. Thus, CEO John Chambers determined that, moving forward, Cisco’s consumer targeting would “align operations in support of our network-centric platform strategy.” Southwest Airlines also exemplifies how disruptive innovations require clear business alignment. The company’s purpose is to “connect people to what’s important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel.” With an emphasis on “having fun” for their employees, short distance flights, domination at secondary airports, a quick 25-minute turnaround time, unassigned seating, and a “bags fly free” policy, Southwest Airlines truly established a reputation for reliability, low-cost, and friendly customer service. Their disruptive innovation’s success was ultimately due to their lucid focus on their