It’s time to start competing against your future self

What could your competitors be doing a year, two years or five years down the road to demolish your market opportunity? How could they innovate in a way that makes you obsolete, and/or that makes them irresistible?

Thinking about, let alone acting upon, those concepts may seem weird or a waste of time right now.  But Netflix started experimenting with streaming video when DVD’s by mail was still a healthy business.  Kodak, on the other hand, stuck with film until it was too late.

Change is not typically fun or easy. But it’s a better alternative to death.

If you don’t compete against your future self, someone else will.