Nowadays it’s only natural that David beats Goliath. It’s not a myth anymore. People love these underdog stories which make every Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg a modern day legend. There were 5000 visitors at Slush, all full of game-changing ideas but turns out it’s not that easy to convert sheer enthusiasm to success.
Industry leaders come and go at an accelerating pace. New social media networks get millions of users quicker than ever and old are forgotten as quick as you can uninstall their app from your smartphone. Industry dinosaurs are in trouble when the agile upstarts do the unthinkable. For every record label there is a Spotify. For every TV network there is a Netflix. And the digital revolution is happening in every industry.
Still, I don’t see that startup companies would save Finland. That’s what they keep saying here. And that’s rubbish even when we have ZenRobotics which shows great promise in recycling the trash. Depending on source, even 90 percent of startups fail and usually they have only few employees before it’s all over. So do you really think they’re saving a nation?
Sure, we have great gaming infrastructure and couple of huge success stories on that field, and in general it’s now sexy to be an entrepreneur here in Finland. But what I would like to see is that this startup enthusiasm could be translated to slow-moving corporations. If two-man startups can change the world, imagine what the giants could do with all their resources if they only had the same passion and attitude.
The first step was to get all these creative entrepreneurs away from corporate restrictions. It means some people are glad Nokia lost the smartphone competition and the people who were let go started up new companies by themselves. The next step would be to get the same startup attitude to corporations to change the companies from the inside. And really, you shouldn’t rule out Nokia even if they soon sell their mobile phone division to Microsoft. You know, they have 150 years of experience in re-inventing themselves.
You should know by now it’s plain stupid when Goliaths stand still and think that they’re too big for a David to beat them. They should understand they’re so big a David just can’t miss them. There are too many examples when an industry leader has waited for other companies to revolutionize their business. If you don’t cannibalize yourself someone else will. The point is that you’re too late if you need to adapt to something only to keep up with the pace of your competition when you could have been the pioneer.
So innovation is not only for the startups. Also traditional companies should renew their business models, products, and services. And do it bolder and before anyone else makes it. Every company should have a startup attitude. How to do it then? Maybe form independent supercells out of talented employees like this one Finnish gaming company does. Or maybe give one day per week for your own projects like this one search engine company in Mountain View, California used to do? There are always possibilities to use the huge creative potential of your employees. So just do it.
I'd like to ask you one thing. Does the light sign in the photo below tell you to stop? Or has the world once again gone upside down thanks to a new innovation which has revolutionized our way of thinking, behavior, and daily activities? You choose if you should stop or go ahead.
The blogger is interested in new technologies and walks against red lights. To get a head start.
