BUSINESS STRATEGY
How to Decide Whether to Upend the Status Quo or Double Down on Tradition
Case studies of two of the biggest business blunders — New Coke and Kodak — and how they could have been avoided.
It‘s tough to know when it’s time to make a change. If the decision is a business pivot, we need to be extra careful.
There isn’t a clear system or answer that works for every dilemma. But there has to be a better strategy than trusting your gut, especially if you, like me, think your gut’s not always reliable.
Large corporations are no stranger to this struggle. And they don’t always get the answer right to these questions:
When is it best to double down on tradition?
When is it best to make a radical shift in strategy?
You may have already heard about the two most notorious examples of large corporate strategy decisions that turned out colossally wrong. One turned from tradition too hastily and radically—Coca-Cola. The other stuck to tradition too tightly—The Eastman Kodak Company.
By examining these examples, we can figure out how these blunders could have been…
