Throwback Thursday… my days at Kodak!

I thought I’d relive some of my old memories… And one to start off with, is my time at Kodak.

That’s right- I used to work for Kodak. In fact, it was my first ‘proper’ job.

By that, I mean – I had several summer jobs, and other side jobs… to earn some spare cash which I’d spend on my car… (BMW 318iS Coupe – just for reference!).

So what did you do at Kodak, Bal? – Well… I was one of the five graduates for the year that I started. I know… Out of hundreds and hundreds off applicants, they chose me… as one of five… to join them!

To answer the question – I was a graduate, rotating for 2 yrs within Kodak, experiencing various projects, programmes and activities. It was here that I worked for someone who is an inspiration… and for someone whom I lucky to call Sensei today (but more on this topic another day).

Kodak was a great place… for those who remember, the makers of film, paper and other photographic products. Huge factory in Harrow… UK, is where I was based. Rochester, New York was the home of Kodak in the USA.

Unfortunately, film declined… due to Digital Cameras… and we all know how the rest of the story goes.

Kodak is used in many ‘innovation’ presentations – highlighting how ‘digital destroyed a huge company’. Didn’t fully destroy it.. but definitely disrupted the industry.

Kodak is still going! – I know… I get my pension letters from them! – well, what’s happening to my pension, i’m a few years away from withdrawing it.

It’s funny… because Kodak actually invented the digital camera (also, isn’t it funny, we don’t actually use the term ‘digital’ when we talk about cameras – it’s just the norm…)

The problem was – we.. I mean Kodak, were making so much money from film, they decided to keep it under lock and key – and invest the minimum amount into it.

As mentioned, we all know how the story goes… and digital cameras became the norm, Kodak were late to the party… in fact, they weren’t that late, they quickly ramped up and started making them to meet customer demand… but as people didn’t need film… didn’t need paper to print on… the core business was shaken, and the fortunes of Kodak changed forever.

It’s easy to sit here now… and say, well, they should’ve done more… should’ve have done this and that… but when you’ve got huge sums of money rolling in… why should you? why should you fear? – you’re huge… you’re Global… you’ve got thousands and thousands of people working…

There’s one key lesson we can all learn… don’t get comfortable.

Someone, somewhere…. somehow… will come and disrupt.

What can you do? – Collaborate. Engage. Understand. Explore.