Ten Rules for Strategic Innovators

Chapter Eight

HOW BEING REASONABLE,INSPIRING, OR DILIGENT CANINHIBIT LEARNING

IN 1996, Capston-White (CW), a leader in computer printers and related technologies, reassessed its strategy. CW focused on the corporate market, and key accounts were now at risk. Copier companies, which had served a distinct market for decades, were launching new products that performed multiple document functions, including printing, faxing, copying, and scanning, thus competing directly with CW. The new machines also were designed to be integrated directly into corporate IT networks.

To respond to the threat, CW began developing its own multifunction devices. It also decided to borrow the copier industry’s services strategy. Corporations typically outsourced ...