From: Steven Sinofsky To: Jeffrey Epstein O> Subject: Fw: [New post] Conversation #38— disrupt or die Date: Tue, 14 May 2013 02:07:49 +0000 Importance: Normal Sent from Surface RT Check out From: Learning by Shipping Sent: Wednesday, May 8, 2013 4:09 PM To: Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on Learning by Shipping Conversation #38— disrupt or die by Steven Sinofsky I glthCAM164QK Anyone worth their salt in product development knows that listening to customers through any and all means possible is the means to innovation. Wait a minute, anyone worth their salt in product development knows that listening to customers leads to a faster horse. Deciding your own product choices within these varying perspectives is perhaps the seminal challenge in product development, tech products or otherwise. This truly is a tyranny of or but one in which changing the rules of the game is the very objective. In this discussion, which is such a common dialog in the halls of HBS as well tech companies everywhere it should probably be a numbered conversation (for this blog let's call this Conversation #38 for shorthand—disrupt or die). For a recent discussion about why it is so difficult for large companies to face changes in the marketplace, see this post Why Corporate Giants Fail to Change. "Disrupt or die" or "disrupt and die"? Failure to evolve a product as technologies change or as customer scenarios change is sure to lead to obsolescence or elimination from the marketplace. It is difficult to go a day in tech product development without hearing about technology disruption or "innovator's dilemma'. The biggest fear we all have in tech is failing to keep up with the changing landscape of technologies and customers, and how those intersect. EFTA00682758