Skip to main content
The Incentives Lab
HBT-COG-0407 · Dimension COG · Cognition

Innovator's Dilemma

Doing everything right by current customers can kill you.

Markets·Mental Model·Grade B·draft· enriching…

Scientific Definition

Doing everything right by current customers can kill you.

Plain-English Definition

Doing everything right by current customers can kill you.

Feynman Explanation

The smartest companies fail by being smart at the wrong game.

Core Principle

Doing everything right by current customers can kill you.

Mechanisms

Psychological

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Economic

Doing everything right by current customers can kill you.

Neurological

Pending editorial review.

Evolutionary

Pending editorial review.

Sociological

Pending editorial review.

Computational

Pending editorial review.

Systems

Designing internal counter-incumbents.

Inputs (Triggers)

Pending editorial review.

Outputs (Behaviors)

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Signature

The smartest companies fail by being smart at the wrong game.

Examples

Everyday
  • Kodak, Blockbuster, Nokia.
Modern (Organizational)
  • Designing internal counter-incumbents.
Historical

Pending editorial review.

Famous Experiments

Pending editorial review.

Design Principles

  • Spin up internal disruption teams with their own P&L.

Measurement Approaches

Pending editorial review.

Evidence

Evidence Grade
B (A strongest → E speculative)
Replication
★★★☆☆
Intervention Confidence
3 / 5
Consensus
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Limitations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Open Research Questions

Pending editorial review.

Primary References

Pending editorial review.

Signature Section

The Perverse Incentive Lens™

How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.

Exploitation
Designing internal counter-incumbents.
Amplifying Incentives
Designing internal counter-incumbents.
Org Failure Modes
Designing internal counter-incumbents.
Societal Failure Modes
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Ethical Considerations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Redesign Strategies
Spin up internal disruption teams with their own P&L.
Diagnostic Questions
  • Spin up internal disruption teams with their own P&L.
Warning Signs

Pending editorial review.

Red Flags

Pending editorial review.

Intervention Playbook
Individual
Spin up internal disruption teams with their own P&L.
Team
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Organization
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Policy
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
AI Implications
Detection
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Measurement
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Mitigation
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Responsible Use
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).

Interactive Mini Network

Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.

HBT-COG-0407 · COG
Innovator's Dilemma
IDChChurnCTCrossing the ChasmDODiffusion of Innovat…DTDisruption TheoryEBEconomic BubbleEMEfficient Market Hyp…JTJobs to Be DoneLTLong TailReReflexivitySCS-Curve

Knowledge Graph Neighbors

Version History

v1.1.0 · 2026-06-28Initial auto-seed from corpus.