A Lesson in Business Innovation from the Myth of Sisyphus
In Greek mythology, the gods condemned Sisyphus to suffer in the afterlife. As a punishment, they obliged him to bring?a giant boulder up a hill, only to see it roll back down once it reached the summit. Sisyphus repeated the task each time the boulder slid down upon reaching the top. His never-ending,?futile labor was his punishment for being a tyrannical king who fooled the gods.
Sisyphean is an arduous endeavor with repeated, useless outcomes. According to Idioms Online, a Sisyphean work "is a meaningless, wasteful, and unrewarding task that must be done endlessly."
?We can use the story of Sisyphus to point out a lesson in overcoming business adversity through innovation. At some point, enterprises and companies go through a Sisyphean stage, characterized by stagnation due to their outdated methodology, techniques, and solutions being no longer effective. No matter how hard leaders and management?attempt to move their boulders?to the top of the slope, it keeps rolling back down to the base.
Such a situation causes desperation for the business, as the same dismal outcome keeps occurring. The slow descent of the organization into impotence, irrelevance, and chaos would end in total failure. The inability to innovate and adapt to the market's changing needs are two variables contributing to a Sisyphean situation.
Around fifty years ago, it was improbable to think that Kodak Eastman Company would one day declare bankruptcy. In the 1970s, the business commanded 90 percent of the worldwide film market and 85 percent of the camera market in the United States, a position it maintained for several decades. Kodak became a household name when its cameras and film became essentials for almost every family.?
During its zenith in 1996, Kodak had over 150,000 employees globally and revenues of over $16 billion. Its stock was sold for $90 and was worth $31 billion. Kodak Eastman Company garnered two-thirds of the worldwide camera and film market.?
领英推荐
However, the corporation gradually entered its Sisyphean era. Despite having digital photography technology as early as 1976, Kodak halted its development because management didn't want to compete with its core business.?From then on, all their attempts to regain market dominance failed. Kodak suffered the fate of?Sisyphus.
The company's executives and management team adhered to its traditional business model. From then on, Kodak endured a downward spiral as inventive competitors gradually surpassed them. Traditional Kodak cameras and films eventually became as antiquated as dinosaurs. In 2012, Eastman Kodak Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District Court of the United States.
?Eventually, Eastman Kodak Company managed to push its boulder over the summit. The firm transformed from a manufacturer of cameras and film to a provider of high-tech printing solutions and digital imaging. It refinanced itself by selling patents to Samsung, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and Adobe Systems for more than $500,000,000.
?Kodak survived via reinvention and innovation, but the company paid a steep price for the lessons it learned. Here are some business lessons from Eastman Kodak Company and the Myth of Sisyphus:
Leaders can stop the cycle of futility through foresight,?long-term planning,?market and trends study, and a culture of innovation.?#businessinnovation #innovativeleadership