The new players are
by nature iconoclastic. They arrive with the intention of shaking things up.
They've spotted an entrenched inefficiency in the market, developed a new
process, tool or theory, or been able to seize some scarce resource to bypass
slower incumbents.
Curiously, given
the creativity and the clarity of vision that marks most new entrants, they can
also be extremely conservative in areas outside the niche in which they seek to
make their mark. It's almost as if the effort required to detect and exploit
their unique opportunity shuts down their sensitivity to contingent issues.
When the rubber meets
the road, even some of the youngest and brashest new entrants may see industry standards
as an unnecessary “big business” affectation with an unacceptable cost. For
these organizations, standards may represent another “old style” variable invalidated
by their breakthrough strategies.
However, savvy
new entrants see their youth as an opportunity to judge dispassionately every
factor affecting their chosen industry, and to score these factors for their
relevance to the mission rather than their association with the old guard. In
particular, new lean operators entering the insurance market can grasp industry standards as a key ally in their goal of beating incumbents on costs, agility
or openness. The smart ones see the
industry's investment in ACORD Standards not as an obstacle, but as an entry
prize.