Page 101 - (DK) The Business Book

LIGHTING THE FIRE 99 99

are rarely brave enough, or
confident and committed enough Challenging the status quo
in their ideas, to stake their careers
African-American businessman African-American history,
and reputations on risky game-
John H. Johnson had the acumen literature, arts, and culture.
changing innovations. The heroic
to recognize the untapped It was a rapid success, reaching
leader’s strength lies not just in
potential for publications aimed a circulation of 50,000 in only six
their vision, but also in their
at the African-American market. months. A second magazine,
willingness to stand in the Excelling at high school despite Ebony, was founded in 1945, and
spotlight when things go wrong. an impoverished upbringing, at its height reached a circulation
Corporate history is littered Johnson won a scholarship to of more than 2 million. Thanks
with examples of failed products. the University of Chicago and to his willingness to challenge
Most businesses are therefore, by supported himself with an office the status quo, Johnson built
nature, risk averse. Even Apple has job at an insurance company. It a publishing empire that
made mistakes—and, again, its was while at work that he came included radio, television, and
example is instructive. Jobs may be up with the idea for Negro Digest books. He was named in the
best remembered for transforming (later renamed Black World), a Forbes 400 list of wealthy
the music, computer, and phone magazine that would feature Americans in 1982.
industries, but he’ll also be
remembered as the poster boy for world; Walt Disney’s Laugh-O-Gram encourages long-term thinking.
embracing failure, and bouncing studio went bankrupt in 1923; Adopting such a strategy means
back from it. He has reigned over and Henry Ford had three failed that shareholders must be tolerant
a long list of failures. The Pippen businesses before finding success. of risk and uncertainty, and patient
games console, for example, was Game changers such as Albert with regard to returns; payback
unable to compete with the likes Einstein (labeled “slow” by his periods may be long, and rewards
of Sony’s Playstation, and was teachers) and billionaire Oprah difficult to measure. But if allowed
quickly dropped. The Apple III Winfrey (told she was not “fit to to flourish, this longer-term approach
computer suffered major design be on screen”) seem to defy the enables a business to build a
faults, and the Lisa—a computer future mapped out for them. stronger brand, invest in research
that would eventually provide the and development, create better
basis for the iMac—had poor sales. Long-term thinking business processes, and avoid
The Apple Newton, a forerunner of It is the ability to recover from taking (possibly damaging) actions
today’s smartphones, was a flop. failure, and maintain the courage to boost short-term profits.
These failures led to Jobs being and conviction to keep changing As Christensen’s The
fired in 1985. In a speech to students the game, that sets great leaders Innovator’s Dilemma suggests,
graduating from Stanford University apart from the rest. From a game-changing leaders are not
in 2005, Jobs stated that the strategic point of view, a focus bound by incremental change and
dismissal triggered him to change on game-changing innovation “me-too” thinking: they rewrite the
his own game: “The heaviness of terms of competition by embracing
being successful was replaced by unique ideas, and recognize that
the lightness of being a beginner in a corporate world characterized
again, less sure about everything. by the mantra “change or die,”
It freed me to enter one of the most disrupting the status quo in your
creative periods of my life.” own favor puts you not just one
You have to be willing
History is filled with examples step, but several steps ahead of
to be misunderstood.
of trailblazers who stumbled before Jeff Bezos the competition. In today’s
finding success. KFC chicken, hypercompetitive markets, game-
US entrepreneur (1964–)
invented by Harland David Sanders, changing leaders do not simply
was rejected by more than 1,000 outthink, outsmart, and
restaurants; R. C. Macy opened and outcompete their rivals—they
closed many stores before founding move the goalposts and redefine
the largest department store in the the rules of the game. ■