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You are viewing ARCHIVED CONTENT released online between 1 April 2010 and 24 August 2018 or content that has been selectively archived and is no longer active. Content in this archive is NOT UPDATED, and links may not function.Extract from article by Jim Deloach
The early mover concept, as we define it, relates to recognizing market shifts affecting the validity of an enterprise’s critical strategic assumptions and making conscious decisions on whether to act on them. Thus, the idea around an early mover is that it can include a second mover. The dichotomy we speak of is not first versus second. Rather, it is early versus late, where the market decides what late means.
Simply stated, the stakes of being an early mover can be as high as preserving the company’s right to play.
Today, we are witnessing disruptive change to business models and even entire industries through innovation. Whereas disruptive innovations may have once taken a decade or more to transform an industry, research shows that the elapsed time frame has compressed to half of that. More importantly, it continues to shrink, leaving very little time for reaction. Sustaining a business model in the face of digitally enabled competition requires constant innovation to stay ahead of the change curve. And eventually, the business model itself runs out of steam.
Innovation touches many things. It dramatically improves quality, time and cost performance to create superior products and services to customers. It creates new markets, extends a product range or replaces products and services. It can be disruptive when it improves a product or service in ways the market does not expect, typically by lowering price significantly or designing a product or service that transforms the way in which the consumer’s needs are fulfilled. Most importantly, organizations can choose whether to initiate or react to disruptive change. The reality is that embracing change and the future with confidence is the only viable alternative to becoming a victim of the never-ending cycle and escalating speed of innovation.
Read the complete article at Positioning Your Business as an Early Mover
