Kelleycommunications

The news of Kodak going belly up this week came as a surprise and an affirmation.

At the Kelley School, students hear a lot about innovation. Top MBA students are consistently challenged to become the next great business minds, people willing to take educated risks and stand ready to capitalize on the rewards and opportunities they create.

The economist blogger Schumpeter has a great take on Kodak's fate. It really hit home with me as I regularly deal with students and faculty and their visions of the business world. Because Kelley embraces experiential education and is one of the most respected entrepreneurship programs in the nation, it makes complete sense that our programs should be talking about the points Schumpeter is trying to make here.

Shouldn't an industry giant like Kodak have been ahead of the curve and anticipated changing trends in the industry? Kelley certainly has been involved in the dialogue about changes ahead for accredited business schools today.

How can a business that set the standard be so unprepared to embrace change?

It really is a scary concept that such an massive company failed to reverse its fortune even when the future became so apparent in the 2000s.

Certainly tech companies have the highest burden to overcome when it comes to staying ahead of the curve, but the lesson here is really about boundary scanning by industry leaders. True leaders must continually innovate their company and be willing to fail to remain innovative. I have a lot of respect for leaders willing to take on those risks and effectively overcome them--especially in light of Schumpeter's final statement here: "Market dominance is only a snapshot in time."

Carpe Diem Boss!