The key question in this area is, What is the prevailing thinking that dominates an industry? What is the
industry fundamentally about? How does the industry function? A great example of a company that
questioned the way the industry is structured and then went on to redefine it is Starbucks. Before Star
bucks, coffee houses were usually small, individually owned shops. In the US, there were very few cities that had these on a large scale. Coffee was something you ordered in restaurants or in fast-food outlets.It was inconceivable to go to a place that mainly sold coffee—and expensive coffee as well—only so that you could sit there, listen to cool music and drink good coffee. The high-end coffee-chain industry that
we see today all over the world—in the US, in Thailand, in Europe---simply didn’t exist 25 years ago.
Starbucks questioned structure, competition and how to grow. They decided that they weren’t just in
the coffee business; they were in the experience business. They allowed people to come together in
their coffee houses and experience the camaraderie that comes from drinking good coffee with like-
minded people—even if you don’t know them!