January 26, 2012
Hello New England and Bermuda,
When you hear the word KODAK, what are some of the first things that come to mind? We all have great memories of Kodak and what it meant to us as a means to save memories of our past.
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The film of choice to purchase for your camera
•Your first brownie camera.
•The disposable camera you purchased to take on a trip.
• KODAK photo paper as an option when having film developed, (and you were willing to pay more because you knew it was “better”.)
•The bright yellow and black logo identifying the best place to stand to take a picture at Disneyworld.
Recently, Kodak has been in the news. This once iconic producer of Kodakcrome film, brownie cameras, and preferred Kodak paper for photo prints has declared bankruptcy. Kodak who in 1975 held a 90% share of the market for film and 85% of the market for cameras is no longer a viable market leader and may soon no longer be traded on the stock exchange. They are not alone. Companies such as Hostess as in Twinkies and Sears might not be far behind. What happened?
For Kodak, they failed to recognize the emergence of the digital camera—a camera Kodak invented in 1975! For as long as any of us can remember Kodak was on top—comfortable with their share of the market. Why change? After all, they were the best.
•When Edwin Land developed a process he called Polaroid, he offered it to Kodak and they refused it because they thought there was no market.
•When Chester Carlson perfected a device for a means of making copies of documents, he called the process Xerox. Again it was offered to Kodak and the reply was “nobody would be interested in that”.
The demise of Kodak has been a slow invisible change for some until it became obvious to many just what happened.
How does this relate to your Kiwanis Club?
Technology is moving quickly. Computers are a resource, tool of the trade, an effective, efficient means of communication for our clubs spread out all over New England and Bermuda. And yet, even though they are used by many of our members in their personal life and in business there is a push back to use them in our Kiwanis life. Rather than to have this thwart growth within our club, let’s problem solve and find a solution on how we can assist communication to become user friendly.
We too need to recognize that times have changed. Just as we will probably not see the likes of 8-track tapes, black & white TV’s and gasoline selling for under a dollar. We need to recognize the family unit is defined in many different ways. The economy has changed our community needs and projects that were once popular and profitable have diminished in size. We need to change what we do and how we do it. Just because we are good, there are some things we can do to become GREAT!
Kodak failed to plan for the future and embrace the changes that were happening all around. The belief was that they did not need to change; after all, they were the best! Their product was recognized in the marketplace and they felt comfortable with what they had. But what about their customers? Kodak made a huge error in judgment in that they forgot to keep in tune with their customer base and make changes as their customers embraced newer products suggested by other companies.
Don’t let what happened to Kodak happen to your club. Don’t be a prisoner of the past, but rather encourage your club members to be pioneers for the future. Encourage your club members to look at your club from the eyes of the new member. Plan for the future and embrace positive change. Resist the temptation to remain comfortable with your projects and events, make sure they are current and relevant to your members and your community. Strive for excellence.
Memories were made by Kodak. Now we need to look to the future to see how our new memories will be preserved. We all want to preserve our clubs in the New England District and do what we can to assure they will be viable in the future. Don’t let your club become a memory. The children within your community deserve better than that.
Vesta Browne
Governor 2011-2012
New England District
Kiwanis International
