HP Bets on Relevance vs. Leadership
I read this piece about the great unveiling of HP’s strategy with anticipation – and it turned out to be a pretty big yawn. In a nutshell, they plan to sell new services to their existing clients, enter the Cloud arena and create apps and websites to buy them.
Many have expected HP to move into software and services, based on the selection of a new CEO with that background, and driven by a need to improve margins. And the app store concept is a bit of an unexpected twist. But none of these things scream innovation, the way we expect a technology giant to scream innovation.
Which begs the question – can a reputational leader be a “fast follower” (or in this case, not so fast follower) and still be a leader? If they are comfortable with being “A” leader versus “THE” leader and they are relevant enough, the answer is yes. When I think about the heyday of HP, I think about relevance – not innovation. The world was rapidly migrating to digital photography, and HP printers were there. Were they the best photo printers? Who knows….but I associate them with photo printing…at a time when that was a super-relevant topic.
Dunkin’ Donuts let Starbucks innovate and build a market – and now they are selling lots of coffee. Barnes & Noble’s Nook sold 2 million units and has secured a 25 percent market share of e-readers. Aviation, automotive and beverage manufacturers are always following each other. These companies have built extremely successful businesses on the strategy of following the leader because they have made themselves highly relevant to their constituencies.
It’s great to be the leader. But the key to being a successful challenger is relevance.
Tags: Barnes & Noble, Dunkin Donuts, HP, Nook
