Axiomatic Innovation

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ElleBelle:

You are correct. It is difficult for an organization to be truly Ambidextrous. However, if an organization is to survive in the current evolving competitive environment, it must possess a unique set of competencies that enable it to both Preserve and Evolve. Dedication to this principle will allow an organization to practice planned obsolescence while still profiting from its' current product portfoliio.

Sterno is a great example of this principle. Sterno produces the ethanol/methanol fuels that are used to heat chaffing dishes for catered meals. Sterno has somewhere around 98% of the market share in this space. The "Sterno" name is used to describe the few competitive products that exist as well (like a copy machine is called a "Xerox" machine). However, Sterno realized that changing regulations concerning the usage of open flames in buildings would soon seriously limit most typical usages of their products. They therefore decided to develop a non-flame product that would make their current line of combustion reactions obsolete. In summary, Sterno was able to focus an effort on the development of a competitive product. They did this successfully using Systematic Innovation and Axiomatic Design. They have commercialized the Sterno Flameless product and can now introduce it to the market at their own pace while simultaneously protecting the remaining profitability from their existing line of products. These are both luxuries they would not have if they allowed someone else to put them out of business.

This is a single example of the Ambidextrous Organization concept in practice. There are many others as well--and the field is growing.