The culture at insurgent companies is all about pushing. You get turned down on sales calls, you have tiny market share, people walk away from your trade show booths. You have trouble finding suppliers and a bank loan and even employees. So you learn to push… it becomes part of who you and your team are.
But when you become the market leader, you need to change into a runner, to keep growing the gap between you and the competition.
But most organizations keep pushing. Because that’s what they know how to do. Instead of running up the scoreboard, they look for something else to push against.
Apple, Seth says, is one organization that has successfully undergone this transformation. From being the perennial underdog to a market leader, a trend-setter, Apple has used its iPod moment to start running – hard.