<cite>Innovator's Dilemma</cite> Author Offers Advice To Sony

"Disrupt the disruptor." That's the advice offered to Sony by Clayton M. Christensen, author of The Innovator's Dilemma -- one of the books that Nintendo cited as they introduced their business strategy with Wii.

[W]hat should the company do now? One option would be to not respond at all. One pundit noted that any response by Sony would only validate Nintendo’s approach, which could end up helping Nintendo.

Um... wait a second! Hello there, Clayton M. Christensen, author of The Innovator's Dilemma! I enjoyed your book and now know a lot about the history of the hard drive industry!

While the risk of validation is real, our belief is that ignoring Nintendo’s approach would be a mistake.

Absolutely: I never said they should ignore Nintendo. Quite to the contrary, they need to respond in a much more decisive way. Ultimately, Christensen's advice seems right on the money: Sony should do exactly what Nintendo did and strive to find another way to bring in non-gamers, something that is more in line with their strengths in producing top-quality hardware.

Instead of following a me-too strategy, Sony could seek to truly develop a category-changing project. [...] The key to success is realizing that the market is still replete with nonconsumption.
Nintendo has shown one way to appeal to the non-gamers, but Sony could find others.

Analyst Roger Ehrenberg chimes in, noting that even if Sony wanted to take Christensen's advice, he's not sure they can:

Taken in a vacuum, I tend to agree with Mr. Christensen's recommendations. The problem I have with them, however, is that they require a healthy and functional corporate culture and a modicum of strategic vision, neither of which Sony had demonstrated in recent years.

One thing that everybody seems to be in agreement on is that Sony needs to do something. That's not necessarily an obvious point: look at the protestations of hardcore gamers or "Wii bubble" believers. Despite their beliefs, business-as-usual is not going to carry Sony to success in the years to come.

UPDATE: The article on Forbes was originally from the newsletter Strategy & Innovation, and was co-authored by Scott D. Anthony.

What Should Sony Do Next? [Forbes]