hospital bed market and controlled a virtual monopoly.
Hill-Rom, the venerable healthcare division of Fortune 500 company Hillenbrand Industries, had pushed its final competitor out of the U.S. The battle for the hospital bed market began in the early 1980s. Case study: A hospital bed upstart mistakes bleeding edge for leading edge You probably still have opportunities to attack an exposed flank you just have to dig deeper to find them. Look closely for other highly differentiated technology that may be hidden in the work you or your team have already completed. If you find yourself in the situation where the technology vital to creating differentiation becomes an illusion, there are better alternatives than attempting to “gut it out” with a direct attack on the target market. Trying harder by attempting to do what your competitor does better than they do it is a very tough road. The frontal assault in business is essentially a “we will just work harder than they do” approach. Imagine if Wendy’s could not figure out the fresh beef delivery infrastructure and tried to compete with McDonald’s by out-working them in frying frozen patties it is unlikely Wendy’s would be around today. Instead, find a different exposed flank to attack. The natural, human reaction in such situations is to go back to a frontal assault approach. Find yourself at the bleeding edge? Don’t resort to a frontal assaultĮven if you lean too hard on expecting a breakthrough at the bleeding-edge and realize the breakthrough is not coming, all is not lost. The worst-case scenario is ignoring the warning signs and launching something that is unsafe or has failings that significantly damage your reputation. To avoid disasters like the Galaxy Note 7, it is important to be brutally honest in your technical feasibility assessment to determine if your hoped-for technology is at the bleeding edge. Their vision of a quick-charging, oversized smartphone (that wouldn’t catch fire) was an illusion-or, more accurately, a nightmare. By inaccurately assessing the technical risks, their exploding phones became an infamous example of the perils of pushing too far. The ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 development team pushed battery technology to the bleeding edge. It allowed them to exploit an exposed flank in McDonald’s otherwise formidable market position.Ĭontrast this with Samsung’s effort to attack their competitor’s exposed flanks with a quick charging feature. Wendy’s attack on McDonalds on a national scale was leading edge at that time. Ensure you have a crystal clear understanding of the technical risks and an honest assessment of the capabilities of your team.Īsk if the needed technology is at the the leading edge, which is realizable, or at the bleeding edge, which is beyond your capabilities. However, you must assess the feasibility of actually delivering your visionary, flank-exposing innovation. Whether you’re considering launching a new business or looking to develop a new product in an established company, you may have a vision of a new technology will that expose a vulnerable flank in an entire industry or against key competitors. Often, executing a flank attack involves developing new technology. Meanwhile, Wendy’s poured marketing and operational resources to deliver on their “Hot and Juicy” promise and carved out a niche for customers who wanted fresh, larger burgers with customized condiments. The complexity of their existing infrastructure made it difficult for them to respond. McDonald’s had built an infrastructure to deliver inexpensive (frozen) burgers quickly. Instead, they hit McDonald’s on an exposed flank with their “Hot and Juicy” campaign, centered around delivering larger, fresh (not frozen) beef patties. A smart commander will mass forces against this flank, just as an astute business leader will pour resources into their flanking effort.įor example, Wendy’s did not start out attacking the fast food burger market by trying to out do McDonald’s with inexpensive, quick to deliver burgers. In battle, an effective flanking attack hits the opponent (or competition) where they are less able or unable to respond. Most successful business plans entail launching a new product, service, or distribution outlet that attacks existing market competitors on what military planners would term an exposed flank.
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