Definition (1):
The business concept blind spot is an overly narrow focus that prevents a firm from seeing an opportunity that might fit its business model. Xerox viewed itself as a company that reproduced documents that already existed, causing the firm to be a late entrant into the market for computer printers, which print original documents stores electronically. This narrow focus allowed Hewlett-Packard to gain control of the printer market.
Definition (2):
Business concept blind spot refers to a range defining the markets and products on which a business or company will concentrate.
Pursuing yourself out of your comfort zone is not just enough for ensuring success. You can get rid of the business concept blind spot in the following ways:
- Creating opportunities for discussion: In your business, you should create opportunities for discussing big ideas with your subordinates and listening nicely to their ideas.
- De-emphasizing the Hierarchy: You should break traditions while solving any problem or any big organizational issues. You should skip level down into the company and get new perspectives. Just make sure that the management team knows what you are going to do so that they do not overreact.
- Facing your Fear: If you notice an unexpected behavior among the management team, call the team on it. Discuss it and try to get at the root of it. It can be that an unfounded concern or fear is restraining breakthrough thinking.
- Discouraging Group thinking: You should discourage group thinking and promote representing oneself and speaking for oneself. Thus, you can encourage others for expressing their opinions too.
- Encouraging Inclusion and Diversity: Individuals at various levels of status, with various backgrounds, skills, and styles, should all get the right to participating, influencing, deciding, leading, and succeeding. You should include different individuals with diverse experiences and backgrounds in the discussion. You can be surprised at the result.
- Creating Opportunities for recognition: You should create opportunities for recognition of the work units or individuals for thinking “out of the box.”
- Shake up the norm: You can encourage the company out of its “comfort zone” and ask them to do things breaking tradition. You can bring a sound box to your next quarterly meeting and play upbeat music after the session. Arrange a question-answer session with the staff and offer candy to the individual who asks an important question or raises a significant issue. Just shake up the norm.