Polaroid Land
Important Stock Research – A Lesson From Eastman Kodak
It’s simply amazing that ten years into the digital revolution, Eastman Kodak is trying to figure out what business they are in. For decades Kodak dominated the chemically based photographic process. You shoot a roll of film, and then you physically took the roll to a developer, and made a second trip to pick up the finished prints. Their only competition in the industry was the Japanese company, Fuji. The upstart would just eat away each year at Kodak’s market, but never becoming a real threat to Kodak’s dominance.
Meanwhile from outside the industry, Polaroid back in the late 1950′s invented a camera where the chemical based development of the pictures took place inside the camera. The picture was ready in about 60 seconds. Polaroid developed a wonderful business and made a fortune for both its shareholders and its genius creator, Dr. Edwin Land.
What happened next was a business disaster, and Kodak should have learned from Polaroid’s mistakes. Dr. Land came up with a moving picture development system. They poured hundreds of millions of dollars into a chemically based system. It would allow users to take moving pictures. The movies would be developed chemically inside the camera system, the same as the still picture system then utilized.
What Polaroid not only didn’t plan for, but couldn’t even imagine was that a disruptive technology would be created from another industry that would basically destroy Polaroid’s business model. Japan would create digital photography. The first Japanese VHS and Betamax camera systems became available. The electronic based technology made so much more sense than Polaroid chemically based system. It forced Polaroid to shut down its movie system products. It also resulted in the immediate write off of hundreds of millions of dollars (equivalent to billions today) that it would never recoup.
Now I ask you, Kodak was in the business, we know that. They saw what this new technology did to Polaroid OVERNIGHT. Couldn’t they imagine that it could happen to them? The answer is apparently not. The management team at Eastman Kodak has been brain dead for at least 20 years. The management team and the Board of Directors should have been dismissed more than a decade ago for gross incompetence. They took a magnificent cash generating machine, and allowed it to turn into a boring, mundane second class company.
They simply chose to ignore what was coming, and what was coming was a TIDAL WAVE, that would sweep away Kodak’s traditional business. Kodak could have chosen to lead the digital revolution. They could have chosen to take the billions of dollars of cash generated by their traditional chemically based systems, and redeploy in other high end technology driven businesses like digital imaging in the medical industry. No, neither choice happened. The company chose instead, to DO NOTHING. Try to maintain the status quo was the order of the day.
Now Kodak is faced with a “what do we do now” decision? It is just a question of how many years it takes before the Kodak way of doing business (chemical processing) completely evaporates. There are a number of lessons to be taken from this example of a formerly world class company going belly up because of an inappropriate business model. Among them are:
•Every company must absorb the central thesis of Clayton Christensen’s two books, “The Innovator’s Dilemma”, and “The Innovator’s Solution”. Harvard professor Christensen was the individual who coined the term, disruptive technologies, or what happens when a new innovation comes in and completely blows away a company’s formerly dominant technology.
•No company has the luxury of sitting on its rear end, and counting on its cash hoard to keep it in business forever.
•Theodore Levitt of Harvard always talked about “What business are you in?” You’d better make sure that you are constantly thinking about how to obsolete your own business, because your competitors are thinking about it all the time.
•Every company should have an internal team that is separate and apart from the company. The sole function of this team would be to come up with ways to destroy the company by developing better products, or better yet technologies that would obsolete the company’s current technology. Xerox decades ago created Xerox PARC (the PARC stands for Palo Alto Research Center) in 1970. They intentionally put it in Palo Alto, California because they didn’t want to have their thinking contaminated by the atmosphere in Rochester, NY, a dead town. The same town as Kodak’s corporate headquarters by the way.
You want to talk about accomplishments; Xerox PARC came up with the mouse that we use on personal computers. They also created the graphical user interface that you use on your PC, and the basic design of the personal computer was taken from Xerox PARC by Steve Jobs. Xerox completely failed to cash in on any of these creations. The guys in Rochester were just as asleep at the switch as the guys at Kodak. There must be something about the air they breathe in Rochester that lulls them into a sense of complacency.
•Companies need to buy smaller companies who are creating the innovating technologies that will put them out of business. If they wait until the technology enters an actionable phase, it is too expensive to purchase. Examples are Yahoo and Microsoft, both of whom had an opportunity to buy Google for millions of bucks. Google now has a market cap of $150 billion, and is virtually untouchable.
Is it too late for Kodak to save itself? The answer is probably yes. Very rarely can a company in such a downward spiral find the managerial talent, and more importantly COURAGE to transform itself internally. The current management team is too interested in continuing its own benefit package and retirement benefits, to make the hard, tough, and necessary decisions to be transformative. Hopefully, other American companies, and investors can learn from the bitter story that Kodak has to teach us. Good luck.
About the Author
Information on interpersonal communication skills can be found at the Communication Techniques site.
|
|
Vintage Polaroid 150 Land Camera with Rangefinder, Working Shutter, Nice Cond. $9.99 |
|
|
Polaroid 450 Instant Land Camera Kit With Case and Accessories – Vintage $41.00 |
|
|
VINTAGE POLAROID LAND CAMERA MODEL 20 THE SWINGER $0.99 |
|
|
Polaroid 225 Instant Film Camera $0.99 |
|
|
TESTED Polaroid SX 70 Land Camera With Strap, Leather Case, and Film $162.50 |
|
|
+3 dio Close Up Kit for Polaroid Land 180 camera portrait,like #593,UV etc extra $99.00 |
|
|
Vintage Polaroid camera Lot 225 440 Models Automatic land Cameras $14.51 |
|
|
Polaroid land camera $20.00 |
|
|
1959 Polaroid 150 Land Camera $0.99 |
|
|
Polaroid Autofocus 660 Land Camera and Case $17.99 |
|
|
1951 Peter Gowland Beach Pics POLAROID LAND CAMERA Ad $8.49 |
|
|
Vintage POLAROID Land Camera Model J66 Original Case $14.95 |
|
|
Polaroid Sonar OneStep Pronto SE Land Camera W/Polaroid Flash WORKING 100% SX-70 $99.99 |
|
|
Vintage Polaroid Instant Land Camera One Step Close $15.99 |
|
|
polaroid pronto! land camera, instant camera, used $2.96 |
|
|
POLAROID “BUTTON” LAND CAMERA/ with original manual $29.95 |
|
|
Polaroid One Step SX-70 White Rainbow Stripe Instant Land Camera w/bag $13.50 |
|
|
VINTAGE POLAROID SUN 600 LMS LAND CAMERA IN EXCELLENT WORKING CONDITION $240.87 |
|
|
1957 Polaroid Land Camera Large Ad Man Red Face Guilty $7.00 |
|
|
Vintage Polaroid camera, Big Swinger 3000 land camera PICTURES OUTSIDE FLASH $19.99 |
|
|
VINTAGE POLAROID LAND CAMERA SQUARE SHOOTER 2 $5.00 |
|
|
Polaroid Land Camera 80A Beige Exterior Fold Out Bellows $24.99 |
|
|
Vintage Magazine Print Ad Polaroid Land Camera $10.00 |
|
|
Vintage Polaroid Automatic Land Camera 350 $38.00 |
|
|
1967 Polaroid Land Camera Large Ad Two Clowns & Smiling Little Blonde Boy $6.00 |
|
|
1967 Polaroid Land Camera Large Ad Two Young Ladies Ice Skates $6.00 |
|
|
Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera Sonar One Step $499.99 |
|
|
Vintage black & rainbow Instant film sx-70 Polaroid onestep land camera w flash $20.00 |
|
|
Vintage white & rainbow Instant film sx-70 Polaroid onestep land camera $25.00 |
|
|
Vintage Polaroid Land Camera Model 80 Manual and flash $5.00 |
|
|
Polaroid J66 Land Camera. Vintage w adapter $12.50 |
|
|
1954 Polaroid Land Camera Ad Little Boy Next to Christmas Tree $6.00 |
|
|
Polaroid Land 250 Rangefinder Film Camera – Great Condition! $20.50 |
|
|
1955 Polaroid Ad If You Could Read His Mind You’d Give Him a Land Camera $6.00 |
|
|
1955 Polaroid Land Camera Ad Family at Beach $6.00 |
|
|
1955 Polaroid Land Camera Ad Lady Writing to Mother $6.00 |
|
|
1955 Polaroid Land Camera Christmas Ad Dad’s Hands $6.00 |
|
|
1955 Polaroid Land Camera Lg Ad Little Boy Bobby’s Photo of Duke Snider Baseball $6.00 |
|
|
1956 Polaroid Land Camera Ad Dad Barbecue Feeds Bite of Steak to Little Boy $6.00 |
|
|
1965 Polaroid Land Camera Ad Lady Holding Flowers $6.00 |
|
|
1965 Polaroid Land Camera Ad Small Child Asleep After Picnic $6.00 |
|
|
1965 Polaroid Land Camera Large Ad Arrival in Hawaii Lei s $6.00 |
|
|
POLAROID LAND CAMERA SUPER SHOOTER NICE!!!!!!!!!! $6.99 |
|
|
Vintage Polaroid Land Camera Model 95A – NM $10.49 |
|
|
Vintage Polaroid J33 Instant Roll Film Land Camera Good Working Condition $49.99 |
|
|
Vintage 1960s POLAROID LAND CAMERA Model J66 With Flash and Leather case, manual $30.00 |
|
|
polaroid land camera ONE STEP CLOSE UP and EXPRESS 600 film LOT of 3 + manual $19.99 |
|
|
Vintage POLAROID 350 Automatic Land Camera Electronic Timer 75-150-300 Speed $64.00 |
|
|
Vintage Polaroid Automatic 230 Land Camera, Case+Extras $65.00 |
|
|
Vintage Polaroid Square Shooter 2 Instant Land Camera Good Working Condition $44.99 |
|
|
Vintage Polaroid J33 Land Camera and case $29.99 |
|
|
KODAK POLAROID LAND CAMERA SUPER COLOR PACK $19.99 |
|
|
RARE – Sears Special OneStep Polaroid Land Camera with Flash, Case & Manuals $49.99 |
|
|
Polaroid J66 Land Camera – Vintage $29.99 |
|
|
Polaroid SX-70 Alpha I Model 2 Land Camera $52.51 |
|
|
KODAK POLAROID LAND CAMERA – SWINGER MODEL 20 $5.00 |
|
|
Vintage Polaroid SX-70 Alpha Land Camera Black Metal Case With Brown Leather $44.99 |
|
|
POLAROID SX-70 LAND CAMEA MODEL 2 WITH NICE LEATHER CASE $174.00 |
|
|
FOCUSING SCREEN POLAROID LAND MP-4 LAND CAMERA $59.00 |
|
|
Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera Alpha Sears Special $72.00 |
|
|
Polaroid Kodak LOT 10 land camera one step button pronto mini portrait xs-70 $99.00 |
|
|
Polaroid 210 Land Camera w/Flash $19.95 |
|
|
VINTAGE POLAROID AUTOMATIC 103 LAND CAMERA W/CASE, FLASH & BULBS $9.99 |
|
|
Vintage Polaroid sx-70 land camera as is $20.49 |
|
|
POLAROID SX-70 Land Camera Vintage $33.00 |
|
|
White Rainbow Stripe Polaroid OneStep Land Camera uses SX-70 Film Pack $21.50 |
|
|
Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera Time-Zero Auto focus Camera instant Model 2 $59.95 |
|
|
POLAROID SX-70 LAND CAMERA MODEL 3 LEATHER FILM WORKS $9.99 |
|
|
POLAROID LAND CAMERA AUTOMATIC 104 INSTANT FILM CAMERA WITH FLASH – MANUAL $14.95 |
|
|
Polaroid 230 Land camera $19.99 |
|
|
1970 Vintage POLAROID No.360 LAND CAMERA w/FLASH No.365, Fast Charger 363, 471 $62.00 |
|
|
Polaroid Land Camera Automatic 100 with Case Good Shape – Estate Listing – NR $79.99 |
|
|
Polaroid MP-4, MP4 Land Camera Instruction Manual $9.52 |
|
|
3 Vintage Polaroid Cameras One Step Close Up/ 640 Sun/ 420 Land w/490 flash EC $24.99 |
|
|
Polaroid Land Camera “The 800″ with Flash and “Postcarders” $9.99 |
|
|
Polaroid electric eye land camera model 900 Film Camera / leather case $20.00 |
|
|
Vintage Polaroid Impulse 600 Instant Film Land Camera w/ Instructions Excellent $20.00 |
|
|
Vintage Polaroid One Step Land Camera with Insta Flash $9.99 |
|
|
Polaroid Land Camera 110a w/Rodenstock lens-Beautiful Instant Rangefinder $464.45 |
|
|
Polaroid Film Type 48-Vintage Land Roll Film Color 75 Speed-Unopened-Rare $36.15 |
|
|
Polaroid Vintage Land cameras Close-up 3 Lens kit #540 w/instruction & case-Mint $40.17 |
|
|
Polaroid Time-Zero Supercolor SX-70 Land Film 10 Exposures New Old Stock Sealed $10.49 |
|
|
Vintage Polaroid Land Camera 440 Folding Instant Camera w/ 490 Focused Flash $21.95 |
|
|
POLAROID AUTOMATIC 104 LAND CAMERA WITH MANUAL nice $4.88 |
|
|
Large Antique Vintage Polaroid Land Camera J66 1961–1963 w Case $0.99 |
|
|
Vintage Polaroid Land Camera Squre Shooter 2 $12.99 |
|
|
Polaroid Land 250 Rangefinder Film Camera $79.99 |
|
|
Vintage Polaroid One Step Land Camera $30.00 |
|
|
Vintage Polaroid Square Shooter 2 Instant Land Camera Good Working Condition $39.99 |
|
|
Vintage Polaroid Autofocus 660 Sun Land Camera Instant $19.99 |
|
|
Vintage Polaroid Land Camera Model J66 $49.95 |
|
|
Polaroid Electric Eye Land Camera & Leather Case ~J33~ $19.99 |
|
|
VINTAGE POLAROID THE BUTTON LAND CAMERA $29.95 |
|
|
Polaroid Swinger Sentinel Instant Film Land Camera with case Rare $35.27 |
|
|
VINTAGE Polaroid The 800 LAND Camera w/ Polaroid CASE $29.99 |
|
|
Polaroid Model 281 Flash Gun Diffuser Land Camera Highlander Original Box $13.97 |
|
|
Vintage Polaroid Electric Eye Model #900 Land Camera With Flash & Mamuals $29.99 |
|
|
Polaroid Land Camera Model 95B $80.00 |
|
|
POLAROID LAND 250 FILM CAMERA WITH ZEISS RANGEFINDER LENS WITH FLASH, OWNER BOOK $45.00 |
|
|
1955 POLAROID LAND CAMERA MAGAZINE AD AD AD ONLY AD AD $1.11 |
