Stovepipes and Silos
Stovepipes and Silos are the biggest limiting factor for economic and team growth. We continually find companies and people “protecting their turf”. It reminds me of the old miser that collects all of his money under his mattress continually protecting his assets and living a lonely, sad life. Eventually, partnerships and friendships are developed and the old, lonely man becomes irrelevant. The same thing happens with businesses. Polaroid, Circuit City, Blockbuster Video and Pets.com all failed to innovate and all died.
Polaroid, founded in 1937, was the pioneer and leader of instant cameras. Polaroid had huge success, but it was unable to foresee and react to the switch from film to digital. In fact, it was only in 2008 that the company switched its product portfolio to digital.
The company filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and was never able to turn its business around. It struggled to find ways to stay relevant, commissioning Lady Gaga as the creative director for a new line of cameras and creating a competing app to Instagram. Sadly, it was too little too late for Polaroid, and the brand no longer exists.
Circuit City was founded in 1949 and was once the number two electronics retailer behind Best Buy. However, while the world was increasing its expenditures on electronics, the company was facing financial troubles. Circuit City went bankrupt in 2008.
The company is now best known for its stores’ facades. The storefronts are so unique that many of them are being converted into restaurants.
Blockbuster Video was founded in 1985 and was at one time the most recognizable brand in the video rental space. The company had saddled itself with over $1 billion in debt and was unable to make the transition to digital. Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and has been replaced by Netflix and other digital services.
Pets.com was one of the largest online pet supply companies and was also one of the most famous dot-com companies to fold during the 2000 tech crisis. The company went from initial public offering (IPO) to liquidation in just over 250 days.
The company was best known for its sock puppet mascot. Today, the Pets.com URL redirects users to PetSmart’s website.
Over the next week, spend some time reflecting in the mirror. Are you innovative enough to survive the next ten years? Do you welcome collaboration or turn others away because you may already be doing the same thing? Have you ever told anyone, “This is my space. We are already doing this. What are you thinking? You see Creative Oklahoma believes that All Ideas Matter! We believe that teamwork and collaboration are the keystones to success. We know that you have two choices: Innovate or Die!