Too much excellence can be dangerous

Excellence of your own teams can sometimes become your enemy. It is the lesson that we can conclude from the adventures that encountered Souchier, a small business prey to violent disruptions on its market. We saw passengers perish on a sinking ship. They held on to their treasure preciously tucked away in the hold rather than abandon ship on an escape boat. They did not hear the dull sound of water invading the bridges nor the warnings of fellow  passengers.  In the same way, the technical teams of Souchier were clinging on to their very high technical capacity relative to their products. They did not foresee that these same products were declining rapidly and were dragging them inevitably to the bottom. These teams were reluctant to launch forth on new unclearly defined products which are the essence of an emerging market. This was precisely the road that would save them…

Although small in size, the Souchier Company is a leader on its market. Today it detains the enviable position of second among the European suppliers of smoke clearing systems. The company manufactures automatic roof ventilators for public, industrial and commercial buildings. In the event of a fire, these openings evacuate the opaque and acrid smoke, preventing people asphyxiaand revealing to firefighters the source of fire.

At one time Souchier had at almost been engulfed in a market disruption. Evacuating smoke was not the original business of the company.  40 years ago, it was manufacturing windows for saw-shaped roofs whose outline was a lasting visual symbol of factories built after the Second World War. In the 1970's, Souchier's windows were confronted to a fatal technological disruption. Thanks to technological progress in materials, terrace rooftops, more economic and discreet, progressively replaced saw-shaped ones.  Souchier’s windows did not suit the new demand and sales diminished rapidly. The company fought ferociously to survive throughout harsh competition against its rivals. But it was vain to struggle against a technological  disruption: the decline was inevitable. Jean-Pierre Thévenet, Souchier's CEO, had to lead two simultaneous actions to be able to overcome the problem. He restructured the company in order to adjust resources to a decreasing turnover. While managing usual restructuring panic, he searched for new opportunities.

Resolution came from the  regulation disruption of fire security norms. Of course, it was natural to contemplate  manufacturing sky-domes which are the equivalent of windows for terrace rooftops. This possibility was quickly rejected: Souchier did not have the technology or the specific know-how and was facing well-entrenched competitors. It's a regulation disruption that saved the company from downfall. By the end of the 70's, fire security norms for buildings changed. Smoke clearing progressively became compulsory in public, industrial and commercial buildings. The managers of these buildings looked to acquire automatic smoke clearing systems.

The excellence of their teams was a major obstacle to seize this opportunity. When Souchier, like many other companies, was consulted on the subject, the interest of addressing the market was not obvious. The plans for operational implementations of the new security norms were vague. No statistic on the size or the growth of the market was known. The first client's contract specifications were hazy because the solutions to satisfy them did not  exist. Confronted to this situation, the natural reaction of the technical teams was disregard. Jean-Pierre Thévenet reports: "the lab engineers were proud of the quality and the technical nature of the equipments they conceived. At the time the client's demand for smoke clearing seemed like trifles done with bits of rope. They did not judge this demand worthy of their attention." It is true that at the time the saw-shaped roof's regressions had only begun. The engineers were complacent in this technology they knew well and were blinded by their self-satisfaction. They did not foresee the decline of their actual business or the safe getaway provided by smoke clearing. 

Thankfully, the CEO was able to overcome the obstacle. He convinced a few engineers to attempt the adventure. They tested rudimentary solutions with their first clients. Strong with these first experiments, Souchier conceived the first industrial product. The company rapidly dominated the first niches on the French territory. It went abroad and invaded Spain and Portugal. It continued to improve its product and gain market share. Thanks to this progression Souchier is today number 2 in Europe. The company enjoys excellent profitability and continued growth.

Today the company is much better armed to confront future disruptions. Now that it has been able to take advantage of a particularly delicate disruption  , it will be able to handle future ones that will undoubtedly come on its market. 

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