One of the most prevalent digital buzzwords of recent years is ‘disruption’. Uber has disrupted the taxi industry through innovative, app-based transportation options. Airbnb has shaken up the accommodation space by allowing users to offer their own homes as holiday destinations. Netflix’s streaming service has wrested dominance from network and cable television providers.
That said, having ‘disruption’ as your exclusive goal is not a recipe for success. All of those organisations mentioned above – and the dozens of others that have challenged the status quo with new thinking – succeed thanks to disruptive innovation, adjusting the formula rather than rewriting it.
The best of @claychristensen‘s seminal work on disruptive innovation, all in one place. https://t.co/698bLqSFiD pic.twitter.com/K9t7wg2EEe
— Harvard Biz Review (@HarvardBiz) October 10, 2016
Defining disruptive innovation
Uber, Airbnb and Netflix were not created in a vacuum. The Harvard Business Review (HBR) notes that disruption is a process, one built on small-scale experimentation rather than risky moon shots. Each company started small, refining their new digital offerings in tightly restricted markets before ultimately taking them wide once the technology and business models were proven.
Disruptive organisations succeed thanks to innovation, adjusting the formula rather than rewriting it.
The disruptive innovation theory posited by the HBR suggests that smaller companies can capture some of the lower-end segments of the market by focusing on them specifically, while their large competitors devote their considerable resources towards more profitable, high-end areas. By leveraging digital techniques to deliver a superior – or simply more convenient – alternative to the overlooked minority, innovative start-ups have built a groundswell of support before bringing their product to the mainstream market.
Fostering disruptive innovation in your organisation
Like so many areas of operation where business intelligence (BI) solutions can play a role, creating an environment that welcomes disruptive innovation is an important step. A judging criteria of the Talent Unleashed awards in 2015, as noted by CIO states that:
“A culture that promotes internal positive disruption, even on a small scale, can be fundamental to break a routine and cycle that will otherwise allow people to become settled into a job function and to accept things as they are.”
A culture of innovation can lead your organisation into a new day.Stellar Consulting sees the value of disruptive innovation in three primary areas: Optimising business processes, product and service innovation and customer intimacy. We can not only help you with the BI technology needed to conduct business analytics that reveal potential avenues for innovation, but also offer advice about building the disruptive culture necessary for making an impact in your markets.
Get in touch with us today, and equip your organisation with the tools required to stay ahead of your competitors.
