Evolve or be Replaced

Evolve or be Replaced

Recently I visited my hometown to attend my sister's engagement function. Like any other outstation trip, I started packing my bags along with my favourite gadgets that I always carry with me. One of those was my camcorder. I could capture beautiful memories and probably capture the occasion on video.

As I started digging into my heap of electronic treasures and found my camcorder, I thought that a test run would be a good idea. I booted up the camcorder and shot a one-minute video of the interiors my house. Of course, the next logical step was to plug it into the television and analyse the video output ... I know that you cannot stop smiling right now and would have done the same at some point of time.

To my surprise, I found that although the video was pretty decent I could still see some pixilation on my LCD TV.  This wasn’t going to work. I needed to coax my wife into letting me buy a camcorder with better specifications. I began building a case by listing the pros and cons of this decision.  Then it dawned on me that my camera can take videos too! In fact, I remembered that it supports a video recording of 1280 * 720 pixels (in non-technical geek language that translates to "video quality on my camera should be superior to conventional cameras!"). As I tested the sample video using my camera, I realized that it had indeed outperformed my digital camcorder.

Then I realized: "Regardless of how good your product is and how niche your market solution is, there is always a competitor waiting to knock you down." In this case the digital camera — which is a relatively older product — has evolved to a point where it eliminated the need to own a digital camcorder; at least for the amateur user like me. In today's world with rapidly emerging technologies and swiftly evolving markets and customer groups, we always need to be on our toes and ensure that we do not rest on past laurels. We may be selling a product that has captured a niche space in the marketplace, but, before we know it, we could be blindsided by a superior product/service offering.

Staying ahead of the market isn’t easy. Our industry leaders ensure that we’re always operating one step ahead and this has served as a critical piece of our organization’s success. The idea of thinking ahead and being proactive should also apply to our own careers.  

By anticipating change and thinking differently, we can all become a force to reckon with.

I would leave you with two of my favorite quotes about competitive advantage and you would be surprised to see how such simple words carry such a strong message.

“Research your idea. See if there's a demand. A lot of people have great ideas, but they don't know if there's a need for it. You also have to research your competition.” - Magic Johnson, NBA All Star

"In a garage somewhere, an entrepreneur is forging a bullet with your company's name on it." - Gary Hamel, US academic, business writer, and consultant