I wrote a blog a while back where I talked about how we become corporate zombies – simply accepting the status quo and not looking for ways to improve or innovate.
This is a similar problem.  Business opportunities are ignored because we assume that all the great ideas are taken.  We ignore the opportunity to topple a corporate behemoth because we assume they have the optimal business model and no start-up could ever compete with them.  Consider Blockbuster Video.  They are closing stores in every city.  Much of this is due to NetFlix and Video-on-Demand (VoD).  However, it is also due to a small, but growing business called Redbox Video.  They simply put videos in a vending machine and charge $1.  No great creativity, yet they dared to question the current method of video distribution.  They applied an age-old technology and undercut the leader’s pricing model.  Blockbuster – an inventory heavy, real estate heavy and labor heavy business will soon be a thing of the past.  The following is a brilliant “viral video” parody of the Blockbuster business model.

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TrPwOrf4sM&p=7F411945CF481403&playnext=1&index=19[/youtube]

There are huge opportunities in front of all of us.  However, we are often blinded by our own inability to question the process.  We can learn from the innocence of children by listening to the naïve (brilliant?) questions.  Asking “why” is a powerful tool, but it is difficult to implement as we settle into our patterns of behavior.