CHANGE MANAGEMENT, NEW TRENDS AND INNOVATION: A DISRUPTION SPEAKER’S TAKE ON BUSINESS EVOLUTION

Disruption speakers (especially keynote and online virtual speaking presenters and futurists) love to wax poetic about change management and innovation. But what exactly are they talking about when they give breakouts, workshops and training classes on disruptive technology, trends, etc? This bears consideration and discussion, as it’s not always apparent.

Taking a number of factors into account as disruption speakers, here’s how we’d tackle the topic: By suggesting that it encompasses a change in the way an industry or market functions, typically brought about by new innovations or technologies that make existing products, services or business models obsolete or significantly altered. A few ways in which you find spot the phenomenon occurring are:

• It is often driven by new technologies or business models that create simplicity, accessibility and affordability where complexity previously existed. Per the best disruption speakers, it allows new companies to compete with legacy players.
• Shifts tend to start in lower-end or overlooked segments of a market, but steadily move up market.
• Disruptive trends impact the value chains and core business models of incumbent companies, rather than just offering product or service enhancements. All told, the happening forces established companies to rapidly adapt or face decline.
• You’ll see it often enabled by digital technologies and platforms that allow smaller, nimbler startups to rapidly scale and compete with larger established players.
• Change redefines what customers value and how they interact with companies, often expanding markets and displacing established leaders.

Turning to our favorite disruption speakers, some classic examples of disruptive innovation include ride sharing disrupting the taxi industry, online streaming overturning DVD rentals and sales, e-commerce throwing brick and mortar retail for a loop, and digital photography’s effects on analog film. The end result is often a shakeup of market leadership as new companies and business models take over from incumbents that fail to adapt quickly enough.