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Sometimes the craziest ideas turn out to be pure brilliance! Join us as we explore risky business gambles and daring choices that initially drew mockery, only to become legendary strokes of genius. Our countdown includes Ford's assembly line, Churchill's defiance, the Beatles quitting touring, and more! Which bold decision do you think was the most genius? Let us know in the comments!
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00:00But at a certain point, DVDs just couldn't keep up.
00:02Luckily, by that time, the internet could.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're exploring business gambles, artistic risks,
00:10and daring choices that initially drew criticism and mockery,
00:13only to become recognized as legendary strokes of genius.
00:16Now see the outstanding technical capabilities of Sony's advanced video game system.
00:22Ford's Model T assembly line.
00:24Cars are supposed to be crafted by skilled workers, not churned out like factory widgets.
00:29That's what people believed, until Henry Ford came along
00:32and applied the assembly line method to automobile production.
00:35And at that very moment, as the workmen began to fasten the parts onto the slowly moving car,
00:40the assembly line was born.
00:42The assembly line method streamlined production,
00:44allowing each worker to perform a single, specialized task.
00:48This helped drop the price of the Ford Model T from $850 in 1908 to $260 by the 1920s.
00:55Cars were no longer just for the wealthy, but for everyone.
00:58And the more expert they became at this new method,
01:01the faster the cars came off the assembly line.
01:04And the price of the Model T began to drop.
01:07Ford's decision was revolutionary,
01:09creating the modern middle class and transforming the global transportation industry.
01:13Once mocked for seemingly cheapening craftsmanship,
01:16Ford's decision became one of the most important ideas of the 20th century.
01:19Mass production and the assembly line drove the price of the Model T down from $850 to $300.
01:26Now everybody could have one.
01:30Winston Churchill refusing to negotiate with Nazi Germany.
01:33In 1940, France fell and Hitler controlled most of Europe.
01:37In desperation, British politicians urged then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill
01:42to negotiate a peace deal with Germany.
01:44It was a sensible course of action.
01:46Britain stood alone, its military stretched thin,
01:48and the odds stacked against its favor.
01:50But to everyone's surprise, Churchill refused.
01:53The situation seems so hopeless
01:54that some ministers are considering negotiating with Hitler.
01:59Churchill categorically refuses to do so.
02:02He'd rather die sword in hand.
02:04Declaring Britain would never surrender,
02:06Churchill rallied the nation,
02:08buying time for allies like the United States to enter the war,
02:11and ultimately helped secure victory for the allied nations.
02:13We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be.
02:18We shall fight on the beaches.
02:20We shall fight on the landing grounds.
02:23We shall never surrender.
02:25What was at first considered a reckless and even self-destructive decision
02:28turned out to be the most consequential and bold call ever made
02:32by a leader under pressure.
02:33Although elderly and infirm,
02:36Churchill has always stood solid as a rock
02:38and convinced his people that victory would be his.
02:41The Beatles refusing to tour
02:47Music tours bring in cash,
02:49and at the peak of their prowess in 1966,
02:51the Beatles knew this.
02:52Then, they made the radical decision to stop touring entirely.
02:56Upon their return from the US,
02:58they announced that they were abandoning live performance,
03:00with the final show of the American tour,
03:03their last ever paid gig.
03:04The group found tours to be exhausting.
03:07Screaming fans drowned out the music.
03:08They were also limited by the constraints of live performances in their era.
03:12Fans in the paparazzi thought the biggest band group in the world
03:15was flushing their whole career down the toilet.
03:17This did not matter to the Beatles.
03:19Instead, the band ended up producing some of their very best.
03:22And we didn't know.
03:23We went in the studio, messed about a bit,
03:26and hey, turned out fine.
03:28With albums like Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,
03:30the Beatles altered the landscape of recorded music,
03:33and shaped modern rock and pop.
03:35Quitting the road didn't end them.
03:36It immortalized them.
03:38Somebody spoke, and I went into a dream.
03:46Netflix's shift from DVD rentals to streaming.
03:49In the early 2000s,
03:50Netflix was a quirky DVD-by-mail service competing with Blockbuster.
03:54Then, in 2007, the underdog made a bull pivot.
03:57Netflix began investing in online streaming.
03:59At the time, most people did not have a fast internet connection.
04:02You watch Netflix on your PC, or on your TV through a game console or other devices connected to the internet.
04:08Wow, that's class.
04:10Netflix's pivot was scoffed at, and people ridiculed the idea of watching movies online.
04:14However, Netflix doubled down, later producing its own content, such as Stranger Things.
04:19The underdog's gamble ultimately won.
04:21It not only destroyed Blockbuster, but it also transformed the once minnow into a global media titan,
04:27with over 200 million subscribers.
04:29Today, streaming dominates the entertainment industry,
04:32and Netflix's rapid shift is regarded as one of the most disruptive business moves in modern history.
04:38It's mysterious looking.
04:40Absolutely.
04:41Yeah.
04:43Airbnb launching during the 2008 recession.
04:46The 2008 financial crisis was not exactly the best time to ask people to rent out rooms to strangers.
04:52Airbnb had another idea.
04:53Why not let people stay in someone else's home instead of a hotel?
04:56Just enter where you want to go, the dates you want to be there, and choose from thousands of places.
05:03Customers met the idea with skepticism and ridicule.
05:07Who can trust this concept, especially during an economic downturn?
05:10But necessity drove adoption.
05:12Airbnb gradually became a budget-friendly travel alternative, just when people needed it most.
05:17What started as three guys renting out air mattresses during a design conference grew into a hospitality giant valued at over $100 billion.
05:26For Airbnb, launching its idea in the worst possible economic climate was a masterclass in timing.
05:32Airbnb it and get paid to get away.
05:36SpaceX's reusable rocket technology.
05:38Rockets had always been single-use.
05:40The idea of re-landing them was in the realm of science fiction.
05:43So, when Elon Musk announced that SpaceX would be doing exactly that, NASA veterans were skeptical.
05:49It wasn't an easy takeoff and return for SpaceX.
05:55Musk's team continued to test, crash, and try again.
05:59Finally, in 2015, they successfully landed the Falcon 9.
06:03Space X's phenomenal milestone slashed launch costs, made space travel more sustainable, and reignited global interest in space exploration.
06:18What sounded crazy a decade ago, is now industry standard.
06:21Reusable rocket technology is now identified as essential for future space missions.
06:26Sometimes, stubborn persistence pays off in world-changing ways.
06:30Google's 20% time policy.
06:36Autonomy at the workplace does not come easily.
06:39When Google adopted the same idea in the early 2000s, it was initially observed as a disaster in the making.
06:44Google would let engineers spend 20% of their work time on personal projects.
06:48Most companies, then, would scoff if their employees were to even spend a few hours on side hustles.
06:53But Google's bet paid off spectacularly.
06:56The limit is really just our imagination and our ability to execute on it.
07:00Their 20% time policy led to the development of Google News, AdSense, and numerous other innovations that are now the backbone of the company.
07:08The culture of freedom and creativity that Google instilled through its new policy kept it ahead of the curve against other competitors.
07:15Google proved that trusting employees with autonomy can lead to billion-dollar breakthroughs.
07:19I can only count a handful of experience that I've had in my entire career where it was as rewarding as what I've worked on at Google.
07:28Linus Torvald's releasing Linux as open source.
07:30At a time when the working ingredients behind software were jealously guarded and sold for big money, Linus Torvald created a new operating system for fun and released it for free.
07:39The result is the popular operating system, Linux, that now powers everything from Android phones and smart TVs to 90% of the world's supercomputers.
07:48Linus' choice was a shocking one to start, but also incredibly smart.
07:52Linux should have been a disaster, and it wasn't. Instead, it was something wonderful.
07:57By letting anyone use, modify, and share his open source software, Linus empowered a global community of developers.
08:03What began as a seemingly naive giveaway by industry standards, became one of the most influential tech decisions ever.
08:10Linux's enduring popularity demonstrates that collaboration can beat competition.
08:15So, if I hadn't made Linux available, I mean, I wouldn't have gotten any money that way either.
08:21Nintendo pivoting to the Wii.
08:23While Sony and Microsoft battled over high-end graphics and processing power, Nintendo made a bizarre decision in the mid-2000s.
08:29Forgetting the arms race being waged by its competitors, Nintendo began focusing on motion controls, and unveiled the Wii.
08:36Critics laughed at Nintendo's newest console, likening it to a toy for casual gamers.
08:47Ironically, Nintendo had the last laugh.
08:49The Wii sold over 100 million units worldwide.
08:52It drew in families, seniors, kids, and people who had never played video games before.
08:57Accessibility was in, and raw power was out.
09:05Games like Wii Sports became cultural phenomena.
09:08When the dust settled, Nintendo's counterintuitive decision created a whole new market of gamers and redefined the industry.
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09:32Sony selling PlayStation consoles at a loss.
09:37Selling something for less than a cost to make sounds insane, but this is exactly what Sony did when they launched the PlayStation in 1994 and sold it at a loss.
09:45Analysts were shocked, but Sony was confident they would make their profits from game sales and licensing fees.
09:59It worked!
10:00The PlayStation became a brand.
10:02Sony's strategy aimed to get the console into as many homes as possible.
10:05It may look like a harmless bagel toaster, but inside is a deadly donut.
10:10This helped build a massive user base and developer ecosystem.
10:14The PlayStation is now one of the most successful consoles in gaming history, having sold over 500 million units across generations.
10:22Sony's short-term loss led to long-term dominance.
10:25At the time, in 1995, a very powerful piece of hardware.
10:29Let's see what else is in the box.
10:30Which of these risky moves do you think was the boldest stroke of genius?
10:33Let us know in the comments, and don't forget to subscribe for more like this.
10:40Let's see what else is in the box.
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