Today’s NYT’s has an article about NetFlix moving into streaming videos. Reed Hastings, the CEO, says “…(the) DVD is not a hundred-year format.”
While untimely obsolescence is a prevailing assumption in technology and media, it’s not something consumer package goods manufacturers factor into their equations. In the technology arena, the DVD is merely looked upon as a vehicle to deliver entertainment or information. Another format may be equally viable or better.
Why not try approaching your product development that way.? Is cereal necessarily a hundred-year format or simply one means of delivering morning nutrition? (Shifting consumer behavior indicates the latter.) Are carbonated soft drinks the only format for delivering refreshment? Are liquids the only vehicle for delivering hydration? Why are toothpaste and toothbrush the only format we’ve got for delivering dental hygiene?
What if we all approached our product delivery systems as soon-to-be obsolete? What if we all had to make step change improvements every 5+ years? We’d approach our day-to-day business with an urgent need to innovate. Not for stock price growth. For survival.
It’s a new canvas for innovation. Try it.
January 16th, 2007 at 10:11 am
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