Nothing sucks like success

Blockbuster used to live up to its name – they became the Walmart of home video entertainment, eating up not only the local stores but smaller chains as well. Then Netflix came up with a new business model that blew them away. Blockbuster tried to evolve with ideas like Total Access, which allowed people to exchange mailed movies for free in-store rentals. But it was over.

The problem was, Blockbuster was locked in a legacy business model. It was the Microsoft problem all over again.

Microsoft was a great success with its model of selling software for individual use that was still compatible with systems created a quarter century ago. That success is still preventing them from evolving to a model that works the way we want to work – on the cloud, with web-based apps.

When you’re big and established, a new business model will threaten your cash cow. Too many people in the organization have a stake in keeping the old model, and they put on the brakes. The result is stagnation. In other words, your success becomes a mire that sucks you in, preventing you from evolving and adapting to changing conditions.

So how and when do you innovate in order to prevent being sucked under? I’ll talk about that in the next post.