INNOBLOG

Our own Scott Anthony warned on his HBS blog Innovation Insights that Sony's Blu-Ray victory over Toshiba's HD-DVD format "will be meaningless if the real battleground turns out to be the fight for disruptive devices and business models that make it simpler, easier, and cheaper to access content over the Internet."

Surely enough, when asked in a March 3 Wall Street Journal interview if Toshiba intended to play a role in the video-downloading market, Toshiba Chief Executive Atsutoshi Nishida answered, "That's what we're hoping. We've been developing technologies in this area already, but now that we don't have the HD DVD business, I want to put even more energy into that."

When asked if the loss of the format battle was a blow to Toshiba's growth strategy, Nishida replied, "It was just one avenue of growth. It was one of 45 strategic business units that we have. This just means we now have 44." And later on, he said, "If you don't take risks, you make no progress. Situations change constantly, so if we can't change with them, then there's no future for us."

While Nishida never cited Innosight or Clayton Christensen in this interview, clearly he understands how disruptive innovation works. Here, for example, are his five tips for overcoming a crisis:

1. Keep in mind that business without risk is business without growth.
2. Work with the facts. Listen to the market, not your ego.
3. Act quickly and decisively. Delay makes things worse, not better.
4. Be a proactive leader and quickly communicate your decisions.
5. Be resilient and continue to innovate. Success is not forever, nor is failure.

It would not be wise to count Toshiba out, even if they did lose this round to Sony.