Innovation in a Reinvented World: 10 Essential Elements to Succeed in the New World of Business

CHAPTER 1

The Old World of Business versus the New World of Business in Four Major Industries

As economic downturns don't happen overnight, neither do missed opportunities, sometimes appearing so obvious to the casual observer that he might ask, “What were they thinking?”

It is challenging to connect the dots when you're in the midst of running a business—recognizing and effectively responding to temperature flags before the water reaches the boiling point, what former Intel Corporation Chairman and CEO Dr. Andrew Grove in his 1996 book, Only the Paranoid Survive, refers to as strategic inflection points.

In the following four industry snapshots, you will have a chance to connect the dots and discover how operating in the old world of business hinders how we move forward in a reinvented world and the importance of reinventing in front of the curve—innovating before the business requires it. The new innovation currency requires a foundation of entrepreneurial skill sets, adeptness in managing different areas of expertise, and the ability to scale up quickly in cross-adjacency knowledge.

Unfortunately, the old world of business is where many U.S. companies find themselves today, if, in fact, they're still in business. One company snapshot—Circuit City—floundered for years before its death spiral ended in 2008. In another company snapshot—the newly divided and renamed Motorola Mobility, Inc.—a telecom industry giant struggles to reclaim its top position against rivals Apple, Samsung, ...