Not Another Warning About Disruption
Disruption? Not another warning …
So, you’ve heard the stories about disruption. Companies go out of business because somebody out-innovates them, heard all the examples, and even use “Ubered” as a verb.All this is true, but I don’t want to tell that story.I want to dig a little deeper and discuss some of the other trends that seem to be related to disruption.
So, what about innovation?The process of innovation is something that a lot of companies are spending a lot of time thinking about.Incubators, lean startups, hackathons.These are just some of the strategies that many companies are trying to employ to squeeze the most innovation out of their processes as possible.What they acknowledge is that innovation is not just the purview of a few extra smart individuals, but that good ideas can come from anywhere.People need to be enabled to take part, empowered to contribute effectively, and understand how their contribution matters, and organizations need to find effective ways to reach these people.
What about change?Yes, our processes are certainly evolving at an enormous rate.Great ideas are being developed and combined into better ideas in more ways than ever, and are being used to create products that were hardly imagined just a short time ago.New ways of doing business, of designing a product, of doing manufacturing, and of selling your products, are all things your competition is thinking about.Being able to reach beyond what you are doing today, to not only recognize opportunities, but also to be nimble enough to make them real, is what will eventually set you apart.
Finally, what about technology?Technology is arguably the biggest driver of all of these trends.It is technology that makes these innovative products possible.Whether it is the technology in the product itself, or the technology to actually develop and make it, technology, and your ability to use it, will be critical to successfully developing the products your customers will want.Reaching beyond today’s technology and systems to focus on strategy is what will put you ahead.
So, no, this isn’t a dire warning about being disrupted.Instead, these are just some thoughts on how to be the one who disrupts.
Take a look at the video below for some real world ways to get there.
About the blogger: Bill Lewis is the director of Teamcenter product marketing, with more than 20 years’ experience in the product lifecycle management (PLM) software industry.
