From Nintendo’s success with the Wii, I would take a few concepts from their development experience into my own organization. From being a Nintendo company fanatic my entire life, I would almost go as far to say Nintendo introduced me to the concept of a blue-ocean strategy (competing in sections of the market that are uncontested by existing competitors by providing something new and unique). Nintendo started their blue-ocean strategy approach to gaming with the Wii but have continued it to this day with their most recent console the Nintendo Switch. They have been so successful with this strategy that when people argue over which game console to get, it is typically between Xbox and Playstation devices rather than Nintendo devices as many gamers will purchase a Nintendo Switch in addition to an Xbox or a Playstation,
Whenever I have an idea for an app that I could make that might have alternatives already available, I think about what can I do differently to make my product complement rather than just directly compete with the alternatives. I really admired Iwata’s decision to question the trends of an industry. In Nintendo’s case they questioned “Why does a console have to just compete on power, is raw computing power the only thing that makes a console successful?” Questioning common assumptions of my industry could help me become a better innovator.
Another strategy that Iwata used that I would hope to adapt into my organization is to be an expert at multiple aspects of the work that I lead. If I am the CEO of a mobile app developer company I would want to be versed in not only the business side but also the development side and the customer side. For Iwata one of his most famous quotes was “On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer” -Iwata. This allowed him to be able to actively help intervene when trouble arises during game development and connect with his target demographic (the gamers) in a more personal way. I would also focus on being empathetic just like Iwata was and aim to be liked by everyone in my organization as well as be viewed as someone people can trust and ask for help from.