Kodak Failure and Leadership Terms 1

Kodak Failure and Leadership Terms

University of the People

BUS 4405 Leadership

September 27, 2022

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Kodak Failure and Leadership Terms

Kodak Corporate Foresight Failure

In this assignment, I would like to review an example of a corporate foresight failure, as

well as 6 possible scenarios of how it could have been prevented. These scenarios are the six

leadership terms; Aikido, SMART, DELPHI, SWOT, STAR and GROW.

The failure case I would like to review is the one of Kodak, a company whose name used

to be synonymous with photography but which ended with a complete bankruptcy in 2012

(Parker, 2019). The company used to flourish on a global level during the print photography era

but failed to foresee the rapid coming of the digital photography. In fact, Kodak actually

produced a report on predicted future trends in the market; however, management decided not to

act on it and not to make the necessary transition (Parker, 2019).

If Kodak used at least one of the following approaches, it could have avoided the wrong

decision or better to say the lack of decisiveness.

Aikido Principles in Leadership

There are 3 principles of Aikido widely applied to leadership (Hansen, 2013). The first

principle of aikido is to be fully present which Kodak failed to do in the first place – it had stayed

stuck in the past of paper photography times.

The second principle is adaptability that invites to align with life as it unfolds (Hansen,

2013). If Kodak had aligned with the emerging market trends, the outcome would have been

completely different.
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The third principle is to make a contribution which implies that a leader should

“mindfully influence a situation, rather than mindlessly react to it” (Hansen, 2013). Sadly, Kodak

leaders failed to do this.

SMART Principle

Setting SMART (Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound) goals is

another important tool in designing a successful corporate foresight. Had Kodak set SMART

goals on how to go along with market trends, it would have been able to stay on the market.

DELPHI Analysis

The Delphi Technique is a structured forecasting method involving a panel of experts.

First experts give their individual answers to the posed problem, and then in consecutive rounds

they are free to change their responses after analyzing the answers given by other panel members

(Gordon, 2022). The mean or median score of the final rounds is considered to be the correct

answer (Gordon, 2022). Instead of stubbornly insisting that analog photography was better than

the digital one, Kodak could have listened more to the field’s experts.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis helps to build on company’s internal strengths, resolve internal

weaknesses, exploit external opportunities and avoid external threats (Kotelnikov, n.d.). Kodak

got caught in their internal strengths story (as they used to be the market leader in analog

photography) and failed to catch external opportunities or avoid coming threats.

STAR Approach
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STAR stands for: Situation, Task, Action and Result and is used by employers in

behavioral interviewing to understand how employees have dealt with problems in the past in

order to predict how they will deal with coming problems in the future. Had Kodak management

gone through similar interviews before assuming leadership positions, the company might have

prevented the behavior of denial and inaction and put different people in management positions

(Mind Tools Content Team, n.d.).

GROW Approach

GROW (Goal-Reality-Options-Will to Commit) approach consists of the following steps:

G: goals and aspirations

R: current situation, internal and external obstacles

O: possibilities, strengths and resources

W: actions and accountability (Performance Consultants Ltd., 2022).

Kodak refused to face the changing reality. It also ignore the options of what could have

been done nor took the actual action.

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References

Parker, N. (2019, March 14). 7 spectacular business strategy failures. Bridgepoint Group.

Retrieved from https://www.bridgepointgroup.com.au/7-spectacular-business-strategy-failures/

Hansen, D. (2013, July 15). Study aikido to become a Better Business Leader. Forbes. Retrieved

from https://www.forbes.com/sites/drewhansen/2012/12/17/study-aikido-to-become-a-better-

business-leader/?sh=5a527b2f357d

Gordon, J. (2022, April 8). Delphi technique - explained. The Business Professor, LLC.

Retrieved from https://thebusinessprofessor.com/en_US/management-leadership-organizational-

behavior/delphi-technique-explained

Kotelnikov, V. (n.d.). WOT analysis: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats - strategic

management, strategy formulation, strategy innovation, strategic leadership. Retrieved from

http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/swot_analysis.html

Mind Tools Content Team. (n.d.). Star method: A model approach to nail your next interview.

Career Skills From MindTools.com. Retrieved September 27, 2022, from

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/STAR-method.htm

Performance Consultants Ltd. (2022, April 19). The grow model. Performance Consultants.

Retrieved September 27, 2022, from https://www.performanceconsultants.com/grow-model