The Innovators Solution
The Department of the Opposite.
Remember Qwikster?
In 2011, Netflix tried to spin off its streaming service into a separate brand called Qwikster. It was bold, disruptive—and an infamous failure. But why did they try? It wasn't just about streaming. Qwikster represented Netflix’s attempt to shift away from their cash-cow DVD business and bet big on the future.
This pivot was a classic example of the Innovator’s Dilemma: How can a company shift focus from its lucrative core business to invest in something that might replace it?
Netflix could do it because they had a “skunkworks” team—a small, protected group that envisioned a world where DVDs were irrelevant, even if it meant cannibalizing the very business that kept Netflix running.
The “Department of the Opposite”
What if every company had a dedicated team that existed to “destroy” the core business? I call this The Department of the Opposite: a small, agile group with executive backing and the freedom to question, disrupt, and build what might one day outpace the company’s main product. Their only mandate? Innovate with the goal of making the current business obsolete.
Lessons from Military Strategy
The concept isn’t new. In 2005, military strategist Thomas Barnett gave a powerful TED talk on “Rethinking America’s Military Strategy.” Barnett argued that while the U.S. military was exceptional at waging war, it struggled with the transition to peace. His answer? A “department of something else” to bridge the messy gap between victory and peacekeeping.
For companies, this messy middle happens when market leaders try to transition to something new. The Department of the Opposite fills that gap, challenging the status quo without the constraints faced by the mainline business.
Why Big Companies Need to Think Small
The Innovator’s Dilemma, as outlined by Clayton Christensen, shows that nimble teams often surpass large companies by meeting overlooked needs. The small-scale “opposite” teams in startups have the flexibility to adapt to new markets, leaving behemoths struggling to keep up. Today’s scrappy startup is tomorrow’s market leader.
Consider the transition from physical to digital media, or from mainframe computers to PCs, and you’ll see it’s often not the giant that innovates, but the tiny upstart that’s laser-focused on the future.
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it,"
A Call to Leaders
The companies that truly thrive are those willing to disrupt themselves. I work with executives ready to fund and protect their own Department of the Opposite, who understand that their future competition may come from their own basement, not just an outside challenger. This is innovation at its best—bold, protected, and forward-focused.
If you’re interested in building a team like this in your organization, I’d love to talk about how we build your department of the opposite at Graph Advisors.