One of the prescriptions you suggest for companies to avoid obsolescence is to cannibalize their own products. Explain.
The reason you need to cannibalize is because change is coming so fast and new technologies are coming and obsoleting old technologies. If you don’t cannibalize your own products, your competitors will. A classic example is Apple, which introduced the iPhone and cannibalized the iPod.
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How long does it usually take for a big innovation to find success?
On average it takes about six years for a new product to take off. Initially, the products with the new technology are often inferior. But as the quality improves and the price drops, they offer a better value than the old technology.
Six years is a long time to wait to see if a new idea will work. Does that mean you need a truckload of cash to be a successful innovator?
Cash is not the problem. Cash may be the enemy, because when you have a lot of cash, you feel self-sufficient and get arrogant. So cash is part of the incumbent’s curse. A lot of corporations, like HP, Nokia, Research in Motion, had the innovations, but they were not willing to commercialize them.
Read more: http://business.time.com/2013/01/29/innovate-or-die-wisdom-from-apple-g…