The ability to Pivot or the Art of challenging yourself : what Google Stadia missed ... this time

Few weeks ago, I had a great discussion with one of my partners executive about the need of changing. He is driving a big business unit for his company, and his pretty confident today with his target but, ... there's a but - he doesn't see how he could extend his existing business with their actual strategy. He could continue few years like this from his actual perspective.

After two hours of discussion, market review it became evidence that his new challengers, and the futur ones could skin the beast in less of 5 years. And came, what's a classic in this situation : should we pivot at risk our business, or continue like this and starting to pray ?

Never mind who you are, and what's your size , pivoting your business and strategy is not a question of 'we are too big, too old fashion, blablabla' . It's more a matter of people. Yes, sir : People!

When you lookout the technology evolution, there's some innovators who are always a bit in advance and don't grab the 'fruits' - and, there is the one who are just in time . Why is it happening ? Human species wish to change, and to embrace evolution. but our sedentary life's model with all those centuries since the Sapiens appearance killed our capacity to stay 'in movement'.

Past week, one of the major news in the sector was the death of Google Stadia . No doubt you didn't miss all those raven of doom telling in their tribune 'as we planned, or as we told you, or I was pretty sure '. There's no question of knowing something, but of pivoting or not. In 1997, when Steve Jobs decided to request help to Bill Gates - it was not only a wish to stay as they were , but to change Apple's strategy. Next, came the iMac with plenty of cool colors, iPod, and the success that we know. Same period, in 1995 Bill Gates understood that the futur of Microsoft will be “The Internet Tidal Wave'', and decided to pivot their OS strategy to deserve internet . Later, in 2014 Satya Nadella decided to go 'Mobile first, Cloud first'. It was the ReBorn of Microsoft.

In the case of Google Stadia, many bets could be me made about chasing a new business model. Probably they should have a subscription model $XX/month with few hundreds games, probably they should leave their platform Vulcan on Linux to embrace Windows Direct X games, to accelerate the catalog adoption, buying EA games, and others studios like Ubisoft, or integrating their business inside Youtube itself ... .

In Any cases, what killed Stadia is the lack of 'Pivoting' at a point who could make them successful .