How Competitive Intelligence helps with Strategic inflexion points
This article is called how Competitive Intelligence helps with Strategic inflexion points. Strategic inflexion points have many causes. And not just changes in technology or something one of your competitors is doing. They are the strategic changes. The ones that will blow your boat out of the water. Changes that can’t be countered by introducing something new and hoping for the best. And keeping an eye out by using strategic Competitive Intelligence is vital.
What is an Inflexion Point?
An inflexion point (or inflection point if you take your English from the US) is an event resulting in a change. A change affects a company’s progress, sector, economy, or geopolitical situation. It can be considered a turning point with either positive or negative results. (Investopedia) Companies, industries, sectors, and economies are dynamic and constantly evolving. Inflexion points are more significant than the small day-to-day progress typically made. And the effects of the change are often well-known and widespread.
Change that creates momentum and is hard to see. Never mind, grab hold of it and do something about it. But if you want to survive, you have to do something about it, or it will kill you. These will kill your business if you don’t change how you do things. But what happens is the way you do business again will never be the same again. Also, expect new faces entering your market to take advantage of any new opportunities.
Examples of strategic inflexion
Examples of strategic inflexion points include
- Blockbuster didn’t move its business model in response to online competitors. Despite seeing it and turning down the offer to buy Netflix in their early days.
- Blackberry and Nokia could not respond to smartphones like Apple and Android devices. They dug in and carried on with their operating system. Yes, they still produce decent kit but on the Android operating system. But the consumer has moved on.
- Kodak was too slow to respond to the digital camera. Despite the fact that they had developed the technology, They thought and still do believe that they are a chemical company.
You don’t have to sit and take a Strategic Inflexion. You can, of course, make one of them happen. Here are some companies that saw the inflexion point early and did something about it. Read more: Why is Competitive Intelligence Such a Big Deal, And What is it Anyway?
Heard of these companies?
- Do you know American Express? The leader in express mail services focusing on goods, currency and stock certificates?
- The 1930s wallpaper cleaner Play-Doh
- IBM, the computer manufacturer
- Slack, the computer game builder
- Starbucks, the coffee bean importer and coffee-making equipment seller
- Hygiene and cosmetics products Lak-Hui Chemical Industrial Company, now known as LG
- The antique shop specialising in decorative shells is now called Royal Dutch Shell
- The telecom company called Western Union
- Nokia, the Norwegian Papermill
- Gunpowder manufacturer DuPont
- 3M, the Mining company
- and, of course, the dating site called YouTube
Rapid change
Strategic inflexion points are not just associated with technological industries. They can change any business sector. We live in an ever-increasing world of change. And as technology improves, these changes can affect (or you can affect) globally. Creating new competitors from the new ways of doing stuff and from anywhere in the world. Distance is no longer a barrier to entry. It’s only a matter of time before you experience a Strategic Inflexion point. It will happen, and tech will make it even more rapid, and you can’t hide from it.
Forward-looking strategic Competitive Intelligence
Strategic Competitive Intelligence is forward-looking and will help you with your future planning. The earlier you see the change coming or, the quicker you can create the change, the easier it will be. It’s like crime. Police forces don’t know when a crime will happen. But they use Intelligence and look for patterns in offending. And plot crime locations on a map. They can anticipate where things will happen. But to a point. They still need to be about to be capable of responding to unanticipated events. And so do you. Sooner or later, you will be affected by a strategic inflexion point. Without Competitive Intelligence, you may not see it coming until it’s too late. Understanding the structure of any strategic inflexion points. Most importantly, knowing what to do about them will help you protect your company’s future. Read more: Analysing Your Competitive Landscape Using Game Theory.
Competitive Intelligence helps with Strategic inflexion points
This article was called How Competitive Intelligence Helps with Strategic Inflexion Points. And guess how many people will care about it after the Strategic Inflexion point pokes you where the sun doesn’t shine? Or even remember you five years after the unseen cataclysmic industry change.
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