Bullet Time® and The Matrix Effect
I was a novice nappy changer. I babbled and cooed at my baby boy as I unfasted his dirty nappy. My wife’s words echoed, “Don’t unfasten the dirty nappy until you have the replacement in place.” Pfft, I knew better, I am fast. The little angel unleashed as I bent down to get a replacement nappy. He pebble-dashed the walls, the bedside locker, the curtains and the new carpet; he even got me. As I looked in disbelief, he smiled. I could have benefitted from “Bullet Time®.”
Bullet Time® (The Matrix Effect)
Bullet time is a visual effect created using multiple cameras to give the impression of time slowing down or standing still. The term was first used in the original script of Warner Brothers’ 1999 film ‘The Matrix’. It described that iconic scene where bullets glide through the air in slow motion past the movie’s hero, Neo’s head.
In our current series on The Innovation Show with Paul Nunes, Paul uses the “bullet time” as a technique available to change agents and strategists. Applying bullet time in the context of innovation can slow the pace of transformation, buying an organisation invaluable time to compete, partner, or acquire a disruptor before it devastates a business or business model. Slowing down the inevitable is especially important in regulated industries. While they often appear protected from disruption, the reality is that they are just as vulnerable and, in some respect, even more at risk of devastation from information-driven disruptors.
Bullet Time To Buy Time, Not Stop It
“Incumbents who build management and organisational barriers that filter out actual customer needs when those needs don’t fit the current business plan are certain to stumble when the Band-Aid is suddenly ripped off. If they aren’t ready with their next innovation and the flexibility to pivot to it, they risk getting caught not only with nothing to replace shrinking revenue, but also with all their resources committed to the now-faded product. Total and rapid collapse is often the result.” –
In ‘The Matrix’, Neo doesn’t use bullet time as an end in itself but to create a buffer of time to take decisive action, in his case, to escape the enemy or win the battle. Many incumbent organisations, especially those (temporarily) shielded by regulation, should heed the wisdom of this point. In mature industries, such as financial services, utilities, and transportation, the future cause of disruption may prove to be the artificial protection of regulation.
One can empathise with some industries, like banking, that are the victims of intense regulation, like banking after the 2008 crisis. The people who work in banking today, for example, are still paying the price for the sins of their predecessors. While necessary, regulation can inhibit innovation. In financial services, a significant challenge is getting permission from the regulator to allow someone to sign up for a new product or service without a signature. This makes it easier for the customer but riskier for regulation. The challenge is that everyone is just doing their job. Unlicensed drivers are not a good idea, nor is the use of inappropriate accommodation as a short-term rental. Regulation is necessary.
However, those in regulation roles sometimes become subservient to the regulator. The regulator becomes their customer at the expense of the end customer. Regulation maintains certain status quo “bullet time” for banks but can change due to pent-up customer pressure. If incumbents do not take advantage of “bullet time” to build change muscles within their organisation, “when”, not “if” regulation redefines the playing field, the once-protected incumbent can find themselves facing a competent disruptor. Incumbents who do not use bullet time wisely may have forgotten how to compete in a truly competitive marketplace.
Resisting the Inevitable
“Everything is change. Nothing can be held on to. And if you go with the flux, you flow with it. However, if you resist the stream, it fights you.” — Alan Watts.
Other than regulation, incumbents can try to block the adoption of new technology in the courts. In 2017, the cabbies successfully incited Transport for London (TFL), to cancel Uber’s operating license in London city. In 2020, Uber won a court judgment upholding its appeal of TFL’s decision, thereby securing Uber’s future in London. But in 2021, the UK Supreme Court ruled that Uber drivers are entitled to workers’ rights, effectively giving the cabbies a win. As the illustration suggests, this resembles the proverbial Dutch boy plugging leaks in the dam.
A more insidious means of blocking the adoption of new technology is swaying public opinion against the technological changes. Consider the early 1990s, when US Congress contemplated a significant proposal — permitting double and triple trailers on the nation’s highways. (I learned this from Yossi Sheffi in his brilliant book ‘The Magic Conveyor Belt’. We discuss this subject in a forthcoming series on the show.) The proposal sent shockwaves through the railroad industry, threatening to reduce profits by 40% or more. In response, the railway companies invested in a multimillion-dollar ad campaign to persuade citizens and members of Congress to oppose the spread of triple trailers on the nation’s highways. A nationwide TV ad depicted a woman driving as she watches a big truck pulling a triple trailer advancing in her rearview mirror. With her three children singing and playing on a toy xylophone in the backseat, the truck looms ever larger. Ultimately, the truck swings past the car, and an ominous voice declares, “Some companies want these big trucks. If you don’t, call this toll-free number. We’ll tell you how to stop them.”
Imagine now if the rail companies had invested multi-million dollars in innovation, sustainability or other ways to compete without gaffing the scale and nudging perceptions. When an industry benefits from the technology, it subtly integrates it, but when they have not used its bullet time — which can be afforded by market dominance — it defends. As Yossi Sheffi reminds us, today’s modern aeroplanes can fly themselves. A Boeing 787 is practically a drone. Yet very few passengers would be willing to board an airliner without a pilot (or two) in the cockpit. Perhaps this is because the entire industry benefits (except the pilots).
My point for this Thursday Thought is nicely summed up by the former CEO of Nokia, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, when he said, “It is sometimes difficult in a big, successful organisation to have a sense of urgency and hunger. No company can defend only. If you have a high market share and are a market leader, if you start defending, you cannot sustain.”
If you have the luxury of bullet time, use it wisely in your organisation and career and build capability before you need it. As JFK said, “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.” Use bullet time to buy you time; don’t get frozen in time.
Substack premium subscribers can look forward to a virtual AMA with Paul in November. Find us here: https://thethursdaythought.substack.com
Thanks for Reading
The latest in our series with Paul Nunes is below. YouTube includes graphs and diagrams from the book, or listen anywhere you get your podcasts.
Changing Nappies: Bullet Time® Buys You Time was originally published in The Thursday Thought on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.