The opossum is a strange animal.  Its principal line of defense against potential predators is feigning death.  While an ingenious and innovative psychological deterrent, this has at least two significant risks if not followed up by subsequent innovations. 

First, it banks on predators’ tastes not changing over time.  But what if a stiff, carcass-like appearance eventually becomes an appetite enhancer and not suppressant for savage beasts? 

Second, the opossum’s ploy can only work as long as other animals of similarly low rank on the food chain don’t decide to imitate it.  Because if every creature in the path of some leopard or a wolf pack started to mysteriously drop dead, those predators sooner or later would begin to get mighty suspicious, and the cover would be fatally blown.

So, is your business like an opossum? Does it have a clearly distinct and unconventional strategy and market offering? And, are you continuously refreshing and re-imagining what you do, in order to stay relevant to your target audience?

#innovation #transformation #leadership #creativity #strategy