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An essential framework for continuous innovation
KAIHAN KRIPPENDORFF
In the early 1800s, Hudson’s Bay, a Canadian trading company, was facing collapse because a competing trading company, the North West Company, had adopted a new distribution strategy. By moving trading posts closer to customers, North West established a more flexible, decentralized management structure. Hudson’s Bay’s centralized bureaucracy hindered the company’s reaction time, and by 1809 the company seemed destined to close. In that year, however, Hudson Bay’s ownership changed hands. The new leadership quickly copied its rival’s approach, moving trading posts nearer to customers and decentralizing operations.
By breaking through rigidity to react to a changing environment, ...
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