Are you optimising for the right things?
As engineers, architects, designers, managers, etc we often strive for the best. We also can be entrenched in our positions thinking that something we believe to be true is fact. But markets change, customers change and it's important to look up, look around and check things haven't changed while you were focused on doing your best.
One example of this I have seen lately is where broadcasting technology can sometimes focus on making the best equipment, to do the best things and the best way. But those who watch broadcasting with an objective eye know that traditional broadcasting is having its lunch eaten by non-traditional providers and new media. Twitch, YouTube, social media platforms, they're taking eyeballs and most of the successful production companies aren't bound by traditional ways of doing things. They take what they find from traditional technologies and then make it their own, carving their own path and often doing it for less money.
Why spend $1m when a $20k solution will do the same job? Maybe it won't be the best, maybe it won't be from that venerable name you've always admired? But will it do the job? Ah, but it won't be as reliable because it's a challenger brand! Okay, buy two or three and it's still cheaper. Sure, don't buy junk, but by the same token don't be so loyal to your roots that you can't see an opportunity when it comes along.
领英推荐
Those visionaries you admire, the companies that are bold and making waves. I bet they're taking risks, doing things unconventionally, researching new positions.
But back to another part of my first paragraph: are you sure the customer your targeting is the one you should be optimising for? One example that I latch on to time and time again is film making. People who make films are targeting the cinema because they idolise cinema, as I do with that history and nostalgia. But I have to keep reminding people: theatrical release is a snapshot of the total lifecycle of a film. Theatrical ticket sales peaked in 2002 and have been declining ever since. But we all know of the rise in streaming. So why are film makers making their films with the big screen in mind? 24fps is a nostalgic anachronism, a legacy of the celluloid era and one which has no technical bearing for consumers. You might say that there are people who can tell the difference between 24, 25 and 30fps, but fps shouldn't be that significant to the story telling process, not as film makers believe it is.
Are you challenging your personal dogma? Are you challenging your business? Who's eating your lunch and you didn't realise it?
Product Management | Transformational leader | Constant learner
1 年Totally agree with the concept. Indeed many companies (and people) are living in the past, thinking that the same approach will lead to the same result. Times change too fast for that. I would partially disagree with the cinematic release topic. Watching certain films in theaters is a different experience and a cinema is an art form that can be experienced as a group. I still have hope for the cinema theater industry, but they also need to adapt to the times with an enriched cinematic experience. Those theaters which are already adapted are very often full. No arguments about the 24 fps debate :)