The evidence is in.

There is a new risk profile in this age of disruption. Risk in the age of disruption is such that if the situation continues unmitigated, an organization will become less relevant or cease to exist. We have seen countless examples of this as a result of technical innovation. Before the advent of the automobile, there were dozens of companies that made the horse whip. With the exception of a handful, these companies are gone and the industry minimized to a specific niche. We all can name more recent examples of companies or whole industries that had not transformed in the face of technical innovation (e.g., Blockbuster, Barnes & Noble, Music industry). The difference between the age of the horse buggies and today is that the daunting pace of change with emerging technologies and business capabilities/models. In each industry, a “new way” of doing business is emerging. If it hasn’t happened in your industry, it will.

Many companies have not yet recognized today’s disruptive landscape as an issue. For these companies, the focus is still on the existing business model, the industry as it has been for decades and the market segments they have traditionally served. The issue is that the landscape is changing quickly and the products, services and business models of today are under threat. Companies that are built for technical and business innovation are entering traditional markets or creating whole new industries. It is a matter of time in which a known competitor or an asymmetrical competitor create a better experience and better value challenge the loyalty of your customers.

The opportunity here is to begin or double-down on your journey. Survival is at stake. The aim is to build an organization that is:

• is aware of innovation in emerging technology and business practices,
• able to adapt to the pace of change and apply innovation
• able to foster a culture of innovation with a mindset of ideation and experimentation.

Get Started!

Don’t hesitate. Get started with us today. You may have some specific pressing issues in which it makes sense to jump to applying emerging technology and develop one or more Proof of Concepts (POC). Treat each POC as an experiment that will yield learning and decisions to press forward, adapt direction, or try a different experiment. Ultimately, any transformational change involves good organizational change practices. It is helpful to start with a current state assessment which includes a maturity model based on the characteristics of companies that are thriving today like Netflix, Amazon, Facebook and many others from the pre-digital age.

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