Winning at Corporate Entrepreneurship: Sony Should Have Invented the iPod
Is your company about to be iPodded? iPodded is a term I use to refer to a well established company with a great brand and product getting leapfrogged (iPodded) by the introduction of a game-changing product from a different company despite the fact that the original company had all the knowhow and capabilities to invent that new product in the first place.
With the Sony Walkman, Sony had a global following of loyal fans, great insights into client needs regarding music and portability, and extensive research and development capabilities. But it did not stop there. What many people don’t realize is that Sony was also in the computer business in the 80s. It therefore had access to the latest trends and technologies in digitization. And to top it all off, it was headquartered in what is arguably the world’s epicenter for miniaturization technologies. Despite all of these competitive advantages, it still was not able (or willing) to recognize that an opportunity existed to leverage digital technology and leapfrog MP3 type players to introduce what should have been the Sony iPod.
Corporate entrepreneurship (intrapreneurship) is all about leveraging existing company core competencies, coupled with available assets and resources, to position a new business or line of business previously unserved by the corporation. Looking back, one of the best examples of a lost opportunity for intrapreneurship was Sony not capitalizing on its incredibly successful Sony Walkman to invent the iPod. After all, Sony had revolutionized the music industry in the early 80s with the introduction of the Walkman and had established incredible market dominance.
To avoid being iPodded, your company requires:
A corporate culture that invites diversity and diverging opinions about market trends and possible threats and opportunities.
An innovation pipeline of ideas that challenges the company’s technology status quo and remains at the forefront of new technologies, worldwide.
A deep understanding of emerging technologies and how they are converging to disrupt what has been the established technologies in your business historically.
Innovators being paired with intrapreneurs to understand the business impact of innovations and how financially material they can be to the company.
Speed of analysis and decision making to ensure that great ideas can transition quickly from R&D lab to market.
Senior executives willing to sponsor great ideas, even if they go against the company’s innovation grain.
Guillaume Hervé is the author of Winning at Corporate Entrepreneurship: 12 Labors to Overcome Corporate Culture and Achieve Startup Success that is scheduled for publication on April 30th, 2015.
