Either cannibalize your own company or a competitor will do it for you and take your market share. This is one of the most important secrets of success. Most people are astounded by ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, and how rapidly they are impacting and transforming the age-old taxi and limousine marketplace. The old industry needed to update itself. Since it didn’t, Uber and Lyft are doing it for them. Now they are complaining.
The problem with the old way of doing things is it has not grown, changed and innovated over time. It has not worked with modern technology like wireless to expand and grow. It never cannibalized itself. So, they left themselves vulnerable. That’s why Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing services are growing so rapidly, and that’s why they are impacting the traditional taxi and limo industry so much.
Change is coming to your industry. So, your choice is either to lead, follow or get out of the way. Existing leaders can be the change agents. Although for the most part, they are not.
Change is coming with mobile TV: AT&T DirecTV, Comcast, Charter, Google
Consider how cable television hadn’t changed much in decades until the last few years when competition began taking market share with IPTV, wireless TV and mobile TV. Now yesterday’s leaders like Comcast and Charter are rushing back to the drawing board to come up with a wireless answer so they can compete with AT&T’s DirecTV mobile TV offering.
Winning leaders think ahead and cannibalize themselves to continue their leadership in a new marketplace going forward. Most however don’t, then fade away. Let’s take a closer look. There are plenty of important lessons every company can learn from.
IBM Watson faces threat
IBM Watson is a great example. This is one of the most amazing examples of how far we have come with artificial intelligence and the cloud. However, even Watson needs to break out of its shell and reach out to communicate with wireless and wireline networks.
Wireless and wireline networks are the core technology that connects us all, and using these networks will transform industry after industry. This has already begun, with the only question is whether you and your company will be a leader or a follower in your industry?
IBM Watson is still in its early growth stages, however even they must continually think about cannibalizing to remain in a leadership position. Either they do it or a competitor will do it for them and threaten their leadership.
Taxi and limo industry threatened by Uber and Lyft
A great example of cannibalizing your own business first is how the taxi and limousine industry has been turned on its head thanks to transformative companies like Uber and Lyft. Ride-hailing is a modern cab and limo service, which uses new technology like wireless and smartphones to connect riders with drivers. This simple idea is rapidly transforming the traditional industry. The industry should have done this themselves, but they didn’t so competitors are changing the space for them.
Government often plays a role, but works too slowly. And in fact, that slowness often gets in the way of a rapidly growing and changing industry. Example: city governments must decide whether to allow ride-hailing services. They must decide in advance whether they want to protect the existing taxi and limo companies or embrace the new. You can understand this from the perspective of the industry, but limiting innovation keeps us in the dark ages, does it not?
When government acts too slowly, cities lose
Cities where local governments limit innovation always lose. They lose residents and companies and all the economic growth that means. Cities where local governments don’t limit, but rather welcome innovation generally are the fastest growing cities. Would you rather live in a city with high-speed internet or one without?
People and companies tend to find the cities that are forward thinking and growing. After all, what would have happened if the government saved the buggy whip industry a century ago? In that case the first Ford Model T might never have been invented. Same with the music industry with records, tapes and now music files. Same with the movie rental industry with tapes, discs and now downloads.
You remember the Sony Walkman, right? We all carried one of those large beasts around with us when we took a power walk. What about Blockbuster video? They rode the growth wave up and down. Some companies are still around, but many went out of business. They didn’t have to. They could have lead the next wave of innovation. But they didn’t. That’s the way innovation works. It always welcomes new ideas and technologies. It welcomes tomorrow and says goodbye to yesterday.
Cannibalize yourself because innovation can’t be stopped
It happens with or without government intervention. Remember when BlackBerry, Nokia and Motorola lead the wireless handset space? Today it’s Apple iPhone and Google Android-powered devices. What happened? Innovation. Older companies should have lead the way. They didn’t, so they failed. Older companies get used to their leadership and get soft. Then next-generation competitors enter the space and transform it.
The only real answer is to continually think of yourself and your company as the industry innovator. Always look for new ways to improve and change things. That’s why it’s important to think the right way. Don’t try and stop innovation. You can’t. All you can do is slow it, but one way or another it will transform your world.
If that’s the case, stay young, think young, cannibalize yourself before new, innovative competitors do it, leaving you the dust. That’s the simple choice. Innovate or die.
Wireless is center of universe for growth and innovation
So, just as Uber and Lyft are transforming transportation using the wireless networks and smartphones, and just like Apple iPhone and Google Android changed the smartphone sector, the same opportunity is waiting for other industries to be reinvented.
So, think about it. How can you reinvent your company and your industry? How can you use wireless, the “internet of things,” the cloud and other new technologies? How can you strike before a new competitor swoops in and transforms your entire industry overnight and takes your market share? Someone is going to create the next growth wave. Will it be you and your company or will it be a competitor? That’s the only real question.
