In a world of accelerating disruption, traditional strengths can become liabilities rather than advantages. The case of Eastman Kodak underscores this reality. Once a dominant force in imaging, Kodak’s reliance on legacy product lines left it vulnerable. Under its current leadership, the company is pushing through a strategic renewal by streamlining management, reducing bureaucratic weight and shifting its focus toward advanced materials, chemicals and commercial printing. Financial Times

Kodak’s experience illustrates a broader strategic principle: holding on to yesterday’s business model limits the ability to adapt to tomorrow’s market. Many organisations fall into the trap of defending what they know instead of exploring what they must become. The new behaviour Kodak’s CEO invokes emphasises execution over ambition, focus over breadth. He describes the process as avoiding over‑reliance on any one product line—a lesson born of the company’s near‑collapse when analogue film faded into irrelevance.

This renewal pressure is visible elsewhere too. A major consumer goods company has shifted its organisational structure and strategy from geography‑centric to category‑led, reworking leadership accountability and decision speed. Business Insider Meanwhile, a technology manufacturer is rewiring its foundry business, accepting heavy write‑offs to reposition for customers who didn’t exist under its old model. Reuters These examples present a consistent pattern: incumbents recognising that today’s growth depends on tomorrow’s business, not yesterday’s.

For strategy teams and executives, this means three things. First: strategic renewal must be anchored in realistic assessment of legacy strengths and how they translate into future‑facing opportunities. Holding a heritage brand is beneficial only if it opens a bridge to new capabilities. Second: structural and operational change is unavoidable. Whether that means leadership overhaul, organisational simplification or portfolio realignment, strategy must deliver through action. Finally: clarity of purpose matters more than ever. Execution without clarity stalls; purpose without execution drifts. Together they generate momentum.

As you revisit your strategy agenda, consider: What parts of our business are anchored in the past? What capabilities must we build to win in changing markets? How will we reorganise governance, operations and leadership to support that shift? The stakes are high. Competitive advantage now emerges from what you choose to become, not what you were. In that sense, strategic renewal is less about preservation and more about evolution.