The Warby Parker challenge

A couple of years ago, I was so intrigued by a traditional industry that offered eye glasses for purchase online. These were not just sunglasses, but prescription glasses. Always wanting to try out new business experiences, I gave it a try.

The online website was designed so clean, clear and classy. But the one factor that challenged me was their offer to deliver five pairs of glasses of your choice with a five day trial period, and guess what? Shipping was free. Whoa! Never heard of a deal like that before. So, I tried it and ordered a few pairs.

This is why business is so uncertain. You can have an industry that has been in existence for centuries and then some young dudes in their garage with laptops decide to challenge it and possibly disrupt business.

In my seminars, I have always emphasized that technology is not a threat to business. We can use technology to enhance our businesses, but the real threat to business is not technology itself; it is that technology changes the behaviors of consumers and that disrupts businesses and industries.

The name Adam Grant may not be very recognizable in this country, but he is a rock star business speaker in America. Grant is Wharton’s top-rated professor  and a New York Times writer on work and psychology. I had the privilege of meeting and interviewing him in New York WOBI conference last November.

Grant says in his new book, “The Originals,” that in a cool fall evening in 2008, four students, buried in loans had lost and broken their eyeglasses and were outraged at how much it cost to replace them.

They thought of an idea that would make eye glasses affordable. In other words, they wanted to make a difference and change the world. Inspired by Zappos that offered shoes online, they moved on with their plans despite mounting criticisms and sarcasm from friends.

Grant says in his book, “None of the students had a background in e-commerce and technology. Despite being told their idea was crazy, they walked away from lucrative job offers to start a company. They started selling eyeglasses that normally cost $500 in a store for $95 online, donating a pair to someone in the developing world with every purchase.”

The four friends finally launched their website and online business in February 2010. They called the company Warby Parker, in which they combined the names of two characters created by the novelist Jack Kerouac. He is the one who inspired them to break free from the shackles of social pressure and embark on their adventure.

The students expected to sell a pair or two of glasses per day. But when GQ called them “The Netflix of Eyewear,” they hit their target for the entire first year in less than a month, selling out so fast that they had to put 20,000 customers on a waiting list.

In 2015, when Fast Company magazine released a list of the world’s most innovative companies, Warby Parker didn’t just make the list—they came in first. The three previous winners were creative giants Google, Nike and Apple, all with over 50,000 employees.

The new kids on the block had a staff of just five hundred. In the span of five years, the four friends built one of the most fashionable brands on the planet and donated over a million pairs of glasses to people in need. The company cleared $100 million in annual revenues and was valued at over $1 billion. It is possible, isn’t it?

Professor Adam Grant uses this business case to teach us a lesson. He says that “Every day, we all encounter things we love and things that need to change. The former give us joy. The latter fuels our desire to make the world different- ideally better than the way we found it. But trying to change deep-seated beliefs and behaviors is daunting. We accept the status quo because effecting real change seems impossible. Still, we dare to ask: Can one individual make a difference?”

Here is my take on this: Do we have friends who would be willing to work with us to effect change? Do we have the people who are courageous enough to tell us that we are getting lost in our direction and we are messy either in our business or personal life and that demands radical change?

Grant says that in the deepest sense of the word, a friend is someone who sees more potential in you than you see in yourself, and is someone who helps you become the best version of yourself.

Is your business on the brink of disruption? Is your lifestyle on the brink of destroying you and making you lose everything that matters to you?

Do not hate those who challenge you to change and do not be too attracted to those who would only tell you the things you love to hear. That would be dangerous.

Disruption is very real in business, but the best disruption either in life or business is the willingness to challenge the self to disrupt the self and become better. And we need friends who would travel with us on this journey. Look for them, keep them and better than that, be one of them.

(“Will To Win” is a conference that will be held on Oct. 1, 1-6 p.m. at Crowne Plaza Hotel. Be inspired and learn from speakers Francis Kong, Randell Tiongson, Gretchen Ho and Carlo Ople as they share principles and experiences on how to win in business, finance, career and social media. For further inquiries contact Michael at +63916-187-1506 or call Trisha/April at +63928-559-1798 for details)