History teaches us that it’s rarely the industry giants who lead the next big wave of innovation.
During a recent #stratChat, we explored why companies like Netflix, Microsoft, and Revolut — once outsiders — managed to reshape industries dominated by established giants like Blockbuster, IBM, and traditional banks.
Why Incumbents Struggle to Innovate
Big, successful organisations often have the resources, market reach, and brand loyalty to lead. So why don't they?
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Addiction to Cash Cows: They protect existing revenue streams at the cost of innovation.
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Short-Termism: Quarterly earnings targets make long-term bets risky.
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Bureaucratic Inertia: Layers of approval and risk-aversion smother agility.
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Cultural Complacency: Success leads to a "this is how we do it" mindset.
As one participant shared, even companies like Paramount, which owned Blockbuster, missed the opportunity to pivot—because they couldn't walk away from their lucrative existing models.
The Outsider Advantage
Outsiders don't have legacy systems to protect. They can:
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Move fast without worrying about cannibalising existing revenue.
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Take bigger risks because they have less to lose.
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Experiment boldly because survival depends on it.
Netflix didn't just see DVDs differently. They later leveraged customer data, pioneered streaming, and then original content creation — all moves that a risk-averse incumbent would have resisted.
How You Can Adopt an Outsider Mindset (Even If You're an Insider)
You don't have to be a startup to think like one. Here’s how you can channel the disruptive energy of an outsider:
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Challenge Your Sacred Cows
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Regularly question which "non-negotiables" in your business model might actually be barriers to innovation.
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Create Safe Spaces for Bold Ideas
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Carve out dedicated innovation labs or small agile teams with permission to break the rules.
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Incentivise Long-Term Thinking
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Reward teams not just for quarterly results, but for laying the groundwork for future growth.
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Scan the Fringe
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Look to edge markets and extreme users for the next big trends before they hit the mainstream.
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Prepare to Cannibalise Your Own Business
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If you don’t disrupt yourself, someone else will.
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As Chris Fox, Founder of StratNavApp.com, noted: "The disruptors aren't just better at building products. They're better at letting go of the past."
Final Thought: Change Favors the Brave, Not the Big
Being the market leader doesn't guarantee survival. Thinking like an insurgent does.
If you want to embed a disruptor's mindset into your strategic planning:
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📅 Schedule a demo of StratNavApp.com at https://calendly.com/chriscfox/stratnavapp-com-demo
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🔍 Or try it yourself for free at https://www.stratnavapp.com
What "sacred cow" in your industry is just waiting to be disrupted?
