Rogue Elephant: Death By Tradition
A former colleague at Kodak once mentioned to me that he had just returned from vacation, visiting with family in his homeland of India. He talked about his visit with quite a bit of excitement, which kept me engaged with every word he spoke. He said that his last visit was several years earlier and that this time his new wife joined him to meet his family. To me, that explained why he was so delighted about his trip back home to India.
I asked him if his family in India was familiar with his work and in particular, Kodak. My question was actually quite innocent and was one I would have asked no matter what company we worked at. That is why his answer completely surprised me, as his reply was, “Yes, in India there is no other picture company; there is only Kodak.”
Although his response may have been somewhat overstated, I got the picture. Kodak was clearly the giant in India, and having learned that renewed my pride in working for the company.
There is another giant in India that the people regard as even larger than the iconic Kodak. Its name is Ganesh. To members of the Hindu religion, which comprises more than 80 percent in India, Ganesh, one of their most important gods, is an elephant-headed deity who rides atop a tiny mouse. Thus, in India, an elephant is regarded as a sacred animal.
Each part of the deity has a symbolic function. Ganesh’s head symbolizes the ability to acquire wisdom and knowledge, the large ears bestow the patience to listen carefully, the small eyes can behold the future and recognize truth, and the tiny mouse upon which Ganesh rides symbolizes the ability to move quickly and decisively.
While Kodak is no match for one of India’s most important gods, I can’t help but wonder if the people of India entrusted Kodak with those same attributes.
Whether they did or not, 1) the patience to listen carefully, 2) the ability to behold the future and recognize truth, and 3) the ability to move quickly and decisively proved to be anything but the reality at Kodak. It is beyond uncanny that the lack of these three essential abilities is exactly what I and many others agree killed the picture giant.