EPILOGUE: An Instinct for Change: Look Where No One Else Is Looking

“If you believe human wants and needs are infinite, then there are infinite industries to be created, infinite businesses to be started, and infinite jobs to be done, and the only limiting factor is human imagination.”

—Marc Andreesen¹

As we’ve just seen, Little Miss Matched succeeded with a disruptive solution that challenged conventional sock-industry wisdom. Eventually, the solution made its way onto the feet of tens of thousands of young girls around the country. As marketing expert Seth Godin has said about the company:

Instead of a strategy built around a consultant’s vision of “utility” or a strategy built around cheap or a strategy built around excessive retail distribution and heavy advertising, they built their strategy around one girl saying to another girl, “Wanna see my socks?”²

So, what was the problem that the solution addressed? Well, there wasn’t any problem—and that’s exactly the point. Most people in business are trained to focus only on problems—things that don’t work and need fixing. But, as I’ve shown in this process, that’s not the only way. In fact, quite often, it’s no way at all.

But, it’s not just about following a process. This book represents a mindset—a rebellious instinct to discard old business clichés and remake the market landscape. An eagerness to deliberately target situations where the competition is complacent and the customer has been consistently overlooked or under-served. Richard Branson captures the essence of disruptive thinking when he says this:

One has to passionately believe it is possible to change the industry, to turn it on its head, to make sure that it will never be the same again…³

The revolution is in full swing. The potential for reinvention is all around us, and it’s an exciting time to be thinking about how to structure (or restructure) your business, your community, or your life in ways that create new value.

Enjoy the possibilities.