“Well, Gentlemen, there’s only two ways I know of to make money: bundling and unbundling…” – Jim Barksdale, Netscape CEO
If we were to rewind back a handful of generations, to our grandparents or great grandparents, they could look to single sources – namely religion, career, or geography – to form the container for their lives. It was how they found their community, their value system, and overall guidance on how to achieve and live a good life. Rituals kept it together.
As these institutions have faded in relevance over the past decades in the churn of a few tides, their sought-out services were deconstructed – unbundled – and adopted by successor solutions. Is it any surprise that many consider their gym their church, follow political figures as semi-deities and pick and choose elements of spirituality from any and all faiths?
However, that hasn’t yielded the best results. Just as there is a complete difference between a cafeteria salad bar and chef’s menu, there is incredible benefit in system thinking to bring different components together under one integrated and cohesive package.
Is there an opportunity to bundle components back together? Is it worth trying?
