Lessons from Kodak

I was sad and initially shocked to read this week that Kodak is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. In business for 131 years, and the only camera/film company I can remember from my childhood, conventional wisdom would suggest Kodak would be thriving in an age when it seems everybody has a camera and fancies themselves a photographer.  Reflecting further, however, I failed to recall new products or any buzz surrounding Kodak in quite some time.  I see a lot of Nikons and Canons, and a lot of people using smartphones to take pictures, but do not see any Kodaks.  People posts thousands of pictures on Facebook and other picture sharing platforms, but not many print photos on Kodak paper.  It seems the creators of the digital camera in the 1970s were out innovated and out developed in the market they invented, and there’s a lesson here for educators and schools.  If we offer the same curriculum and the same instruction year after year, we run the risk of becoming increasingly irrelevant over time. Resting on tradition and becoming complacent in what we do and offer puts us on the same path that Kodak went down.  Just as businesses run the risk of economic bankruptcy in the absence of growth and innovation, schools risk creative and inspirational bankruptcy that cripples school culture and impedes the opportunity for meaningful and fulfilling work to be done.

Focus on research and development, stay fresh, and encourage risk taking.  Stay ahead of the trends, and provide staff and students with the optimal environment for excellence.  Calvin Coolidge brilliantly said, “Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence....  Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent,” and by pursuing innovation and inspiring imagination and creativity throughout the entire school with the necessary persistence we will continue to offer exciting new ideas and opportunities and avoid being kodaked.