How Early Adopters Always Win: Use Massive Advantage To Earn First

Use innovation in every step you take

Facebook, Apple, Google, or Microsoft, all them were winners in a fierce war environment.

If you start studying these big tech companies’ history, you’ll find they had to walk on burning ash for years. They had to survive the machine-gun blasts that sounded from all sides.

There aren’t too many things significant companies have in common. Each one worked their asses to conquer their niches. And each one developed their own disruptive innovations.

Yet, there is one single thing all of them have in common — the advantage of being an early adopter.

To start a new era of disruptive innovation, some stars have to be aligned. You have to have technology in a certain state of maturity.

There are three categories of those who want to break the chain.

The first ones are called the innovators. They are the tech nerds. Those groups of people working on their garages. Breaking up all the prior laws nobody questioned before.

The second are the early adopters, who align the capabilities of emerging technology with strategic opportunities. These are the Steve Jobs of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs are capable of potentializing what innovators did create. And structurize new technologies into a business plan.

Behind the innovators and early adopters comes the mainstream market. They are the ones who approve or disapprove of the final product. They are the quality controllers of the final product. As good as marketing may be, it’s the market that coldly accepts or disapproves of the new creation.

Examples of good and bad practices of the early adopter’s principle are everywhere. We have to keep our eyes open and observe who they are and how they did it.

Diffusion of Innovation

Diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated through media over time among members of a social system.- Everett Rogers

These early adopters were the first to use new tools to disrupt markets. And provide a competitive advantage. They are open-minded. They have in-depth knowledge within industries. And they are very open-minded about the expertise and resistant to failure.

In his 1962 book called “Diffusion of Innovations,” Everett Rogers classified individuals into five categories: Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority, and Laggards.

Rogers’ categorized different references to diffusion to work. Age, prosperity, community connection, risk appetite, education, and authoritative influence.

He wrote it more than 40 years ago. Many of us don’t remember what was happening in the world 40 years ago. The internet didn’t exist, neither smartphones, streaming, or social networks.

So, it’s hard to imagine these categories adjusted to our times.

Yet, we can try to do the exercise:

Age is something that we associate with innovation. Usually, the early generations are eager to change paradigms. They are already more than adapted to the existing technologies. Yet, they feel inadequate. And somewhat softened by the lack of speed of service that current technologies offer. Hence the change started by irreverence and a spirit of innovation.

Prosperity is a powerful weapon. Wealthy organizations always have the advantage of aspiring to the creation of new technologies. They have more financial resources. It allows them to have a much more auspicious risk management.

Education is probably where we assist to a significant shift. 40 years ago, those who attended higher-learning institutions had a natural advantage. Nowadays, most tech experts don’t even have a bachelor’s degree. Today, the game is much more fair and equal.

Authoritative influence is now on par with education, on a more equal level. The venture capital industry made it possible. VCs reward innovation through advanced financing mechanisms. Nowadays, a young and ambitious group can start an innovative project. They start from scratch, without significant capital needs. SPACs are also advanced financial instruments to help to finance young companies. And thrive in the globally competitive world.

I Put the Hamburger on the Assembly Line

Ray Kroc opened the first franchise restaurant, in Des Plaines, Illinois, on April 15, 1955.

Later purchased the McDonald brothers’ equity in the company. And led its worldwide expansion.

By 1965 there would be over 700 McD’s throughout the United States. Today there are more than 32,000 global restaurants, in 117 countries, with 1.7 million employees and 75% of franchised restaurants worldwide.

But before that, a remarkable story of this innovative company has to be told.

Maurice and younger Dick saw their father being fired after 42 years of employment at the G. P. Crafts shoe factory. In 1926, both brothers went west, hoping to find fame and fortune in the moving pictures industry. They looked forward to reaching millionaires before they were 50.

The dream of reaching directors or film producers was short. After being too long to receive money just to survive, they headed to another place, where they managed to acquire a theater. In 1937 they sold the theater to shift to food services.

McDonald’s survived the war years. And after hard depravity, Americans were eager to make up for the lost time. By 1950, 40 million cars crowded the roads. The need for new services like gas stations, motels, and restaurants exploded.

Eating meals outside the home became a sign of social freedom. Eating a delicious meal delivered to the window of your new car was the ultimate fashion howl.

In 1948, Dick and Mac asked how they could distinguish themselves from the other drive-ins? Dick discovers a mechanized press allowing a quick formation of beef on a bottom. Factoring in the lower labor costs, the brothers could charge decisive cheaper pennies than the competition. Speed and price was the magic formula for local success.

In a way, it was always an innovative project but worked in a minuscule bubble. Without great expansion power, due to the lack of ambition and risk aversion of the two brothers.

One day, a well-dressed 52-year-old salesman from Chicago, breathing confidence and utterly obsessed with the franchising model, appear.

His name was Ray Kroc. And the rest is history.

Final Thoughts

It’s not the lack of inspiring stories that will make you stop believing it’s possible.

Yet, understanding how innovation works and how it grows, it’s essential for everyone, even to us, writers.

Can you imagine, as a writer, have the ability to completely disrupt the way of writing? I know it’s hard, but from time to time, someone appears on this platform and completely disrupts the way we usually write articles.

To believe that the writing process is stagnant is to surrender to mediocrity.

Some degree of irreverence will always bring personality to our work.

With audacity, we can innovate.

One day, who knows, maybe a new model of writing will appear. Designed by your hands. Created by your mind, to once again revolutionize writing as we know it.

Who knows?

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