Here’s a Story from Greek Mythology about Daedalus, a master craftsman and his son Icarus
Daedalus was the creator of Labyrinth
He and his son Icarus were imprisoned in an island called Crete
They wanted to escape
Being a master in crafts, Daedalus constructed 2 wings using feathers and beeswax
Finally, they can escape back to their hometown, Greece
Before that, He warned Icarus not to fly too high or too low
Wings could get melted because of sun’s heat
or It could clot due to the dampness of the sea
But what happened?
Icarus got too excited.
He went too high
Wax melted and he fell into the sea and drowned
The same thing which helped him fly led to his fall and finally death
This is commonly called Icarus Paradox in business
Icarus Paradox in Business
Kodak was so obsessed with film cameras.
They were almost synonymous with cameras in mid 1900s
They didn’t see the technology changing.
Digital cameras were slowly taking over the film cameras
But Kodak didnt see that coming. They continued with film cameras
They flew too close to the sun
The film cameras which helped them to be successful led them to failure.
Indian Example!
HMT was so obsessed with mechanical watches.
They had the monopolistic share in Indian watch market in 1970s
This made them blind about the changes in technology
Quartz watches were taking over mechanical watches
But what did HMT do?
They invested more in mechanical watches. HMT constructed new factories to produce more mechanical watches
They flew too close to the sun
Mechanical watches which made them successful failed HMT
But both these companies had the chances
Lesser known facts:
A Kodak employee was rejected when he presented his idea for digital camera 15 years before anyone could release one
HMT in the 1970s had manufactured quartz watches but was not successful due to high price
But they flew too close to the sun.
Do you know any other company that flew too close to the sun?