We have two paths of organization and corporate strategy in our world and they rarely seem to co-exist. You innovate, create, and destroy your old business before anyone else can. This will force you to think outside of the box and realize that success is fleeting. It took decades to build up a manufacturing plant and enable capacity. However, today your business can be re-engineered in a matter of days. Other organizations focus on standardization, creating incremental improvements, and cutting costs. Innovation gets much of the press these days with quotes like “No one ever cut them themselves to greatness” and “the only way to develop a sustainable competitive advantage is through innovation”. Perhaps, it’s not a question of either or but one of evolution.

McDonalds innovated the fast food industry but now focus on obtaining profit from store volume. Dell innovated the PC industry but now focuses their time on the supply chain to try to cut just a little bit more out of the process. Dipping Dots innovated the Ice Cream industry but if you have visited one their stores in Florida, it is clear the results of their cost cutting efforts. Even my eight year old could provide ten things they could to enhance the experience. There are many other examples in the world today where companies innovated and then decided to build moats and focus on efficiencies.

Is it impossible to innovate when you get big? Apple has done it several times but most people would agree they had to be pulled from the ruins of the efficiency craze by Mr. Jobs. Enterprise 2.0 is all about innovation and transparency which will create many battles between the containment and control crowd and the innovation group. Hopefully, we can learn lessons from other companies that have tried to cut themselves to greatness and failed.