Current:Home > MySummer School 5: Tech and the innovator's dilemma-LoTradeCoin
Summer School 5: Tech and the innovator's dilemma
View Date:2024-12-24 11:05:35
For anyone running a business, technology is both threat and opportunity. Today, we run through techniques entrepreneurs can use to take advantage of technology or defend against the dangers. It's not just about the product you're selling. It's about consumer psychology, and ethics, and taking calculated risks to navigate uncertainty.
But, since this is Planet Money Summer School and we want to set your business on the path to riches, we're going to talk about how to use tech to dream big. Maybe more than anything, technology creates opportunities for the little guys where the big established companies can't be so nimble or have too much to lose.
Take the classic concept of the innovator's dilemma: a company that innovated and succeeded, now faces a choice about any disruptive new technology. Do they change with the times? Do they risk tossing out their existing advantage and switch to the new tech, or play it safe and risk becoming obsolete?
Most new technologies don't end up disrupting an industry. So it is totally rational for the big existing companies to ignore each new flash in the pan. But nobody wants to end up like Kodak: sticking with film while the digital camera takes off. So what to do? Our friendly professor has a few ideas – for the little guy and the big old company.
He'll explain the shape of how new technology gets adopted, sometimes called the S curve. We'll also hear examples of what stops promising new tech from taking off: from dishwashers to driverless cars, and even the humble elevator.
The series is hosted by Robert Smith and produced by Max Freedman. Our project manager is Julia Carney. This episode was edited by Alex Goldmark and engineered by Josephine Nyounai. The show is fact-checked by Sierra Juarez.
Help support Planet Money and get bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.
Always free at these links: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, NPR One or anywhere you get podcasts.
Find more Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.
Music: Universal Production Music – "Lost Situation," "Sideways Glance," "So Long," "The Sky Was Orange," and "Growling Sax"; Audio Network – "Clean Lines"; Romain Laupy – "Deep Salutation"; Manuel Armstrong – "Japanese Girl"; Cory Gray – "Plans for the Day."
veryGood! (2)
Related
- 2 more escaped monkeys recaptured and enjoying peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in South Carolina
- Georgia election workers who won $148M judgment against Giuliani want his bankruptcy case thrown out
- Powell says Fed waiting on rate cuts for more evidence inflation is easing
- Concern mounts among lawmakers, donors over Biden's candidacy
- Judge sets April trial date for Sarah Palin’s libel claim against The New York Times
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Calm Down
- LeBron James agrees to a 2-year extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, AP source says
- 'It's real': Illinois grandma wins $1M from scratch-off ticket
- Lou Donaldson, jazz saxophonist who blended many influences, dead at 98
- An Ohio apartment building, evacuated after a deadly explosion nearby, could reopen soon
Ranking
- John Krasinski is People's Sexiest Man Alive. What that says about us.
- 74-year-old woman dies after being pushed in front of Bay Area train by stranger
- U.S. to announce $2.3 billion in military assistance for Ukraine
- 'What you're doing is wrong': Grand jury blamed Epstein's teen victim, transcript shows
- Denzel Washington teases retirement — and a role in 'Black Panther 3'
- 1 man hurt when home in rural Wisconsin explodes, authorities say
- Kansas businessman pleads guilty in case over illegal export of aviation technology to Russia
- Northern California wildfire spreads, with more hot weather expected. Thousands evacuate
Recommendation
-
Fire crews on both US coasts battle wildfires, 1 dead; Veterans Day ceremony postponed
-
Tashaun Gipson suspended six games by NFL for PED policy violation
-
US new-vehicle sales barely rose in the second quarter as buyers balked at still-high prices
-
Miki Sudo, a nine-time champ, will defend Mustard Belt at Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest
-
Jason Kelce Offers Up NSFW Explanation for Why Men Have Beards
-
New York Giants on 'Hard Knocks': Team doubles down on Daniel Jones over Saquon Barkley
-
NHL free agency winners, losers: Predators beef up, contenders lose players
-
Bear caught in industrial LA neighborhood, traveled 60 miles from Angeles National Forest