How to Get Disrupted

I've been asked by a few people who've sent me emails exactly what it is that The Disruption Group does, whether our services would be of benefit to their organization and how to engage with us.  My posts to this point have mostly focused on the causes and effects of disruption -- case studies and analysis that people might find generally useful, instructive and interesting.  Today, I'm going to take a time-out and actually do a bit of selling.  I promise it won't hurt.

The reason that everyone wants to create disruptive innovation is that it catches competition off guard, and leaves them without adequate response.  A quote which is famously attributed to Wayne Gretzky, the greatest hockey player ever, to explain why he intuitively was always in the right place at the right time (the quote was actually coaching advice his dad Walter gave him when he was a young boy on the backyard rink) is applicable here. "Skate to where the puck is going, not to where it is."

The trouble is, how do you know where the puck is going in your industry, or in your business?  And, if everybody thinks they know where the puck is going and goes to the same place, how is that better than going to where the puck is now?  Apart from the natural resistance that many have to stepping out of line and being different, this is what is so challenging about disruptive innovation.  Regardless, to be disruptive, you have to hit the competition "where they ain't" (see "Wee Willie" Keeler), and do it in a way that isn't possible for market incumbents to match easily.

The principle benefits of applying disruptive concepts in your business that our clients have identified include:

• creation of new revenue streams
• faster time to market
• much higher than average margins

And, if you achieve those things, you also create the positive perception of being a trendsetter, an industry leader, and a supplier who is better able to serve your customer's needs.

To give a little more insight into the first two questions posed at the beginning of this article, namely what we do and whether our services would be of benefit, I've inserted a YouTube clip below which is excerpted from a presentation that TDG's CEO, Mike Urlocker, gave at a recent Conference Board change management conference.  In it, he discusses warning signs of disruption to look for in your business, and looks at the direct benefits that can be achieved by anticipating or creating disruption.

Mike Urlocker on the Benefits of Disruption

The 3rd question, how do you engage with us, is pretty straightforward.  We've created primer workshops on disruption that we can deliver to your business.  You'll find them of immediate value as you learn to understand innovation from your customer's perspective, and gain an appreciation of which innovations are valued and which aren't. And these are excellent ways to get started and evaluate whether a bigger custom services engagement would be of benefit.  The two options are:

• half day workshop (pdf 35.0K) to help your team deliver the innovations that customers value and pay for
• two day workshop (pdf 37.2K) which will boost your organization's competitiveness by identifying disruptive opportunities, creating new ways to get closer to customers and steering clear of fatal pitfalls

For information about other Disruption Group services, click here.  If you have questions, feel free to send me an email, or call me directly at 770-216-9922.  You can also visit our website at http://www.thedisruptiongroup.com for more information.

I look forward to hearing from you.

SPECIAL NOTE: The Disruption Group disbanded a few years ago, and no longer exists. If you need disruptive assistance or are interested in the the services described in this article, please contact paul at disrupt-this dotcom, or follow this link to Innovative Disruption, Inc. to learn more.

Comments

[Sean Howard]

Hey Paul,

I just bought a new blackberry 8800. The latest and greatest up here.

And let me tell you, based on what I've learned from you, I think they are BEYOND ready to be disrupted.

The keyboard works no where near as good as my old model. It's actually HARD to type. And this is the ENTIRE primary purpose of the device.

It gets better. I can't play email attachments. It's the whole reason I bought this device. To play my mp3 or wav voicemail attachments from my PBX. Nope. Can't do it. Have to buy 3rd party software (or use their high end exchange services).

Usability takes a drop across the board. Beyond the keyboard. Want to switch from calendar to email? (only the number one things I want to do... ever gotten an email asking about a meeting date/time??? crazy, eh?). You can't quick switch between those two apps. No. That would be insane!

Oh. And let's not forget the new "no see in the glare" of direct sunlight screen. That's just BEYOND brilliant.

Gah.

;)

(been a bberry user WAY too long)

[Paul]

Sean:

Thanks for that. Glad to see you back. Sounds like you're having a bad time with your new toy.

You know, I agree with you, and you've just written a perfect lead-in for my long awaited piece on the iPhone. I never saw the appeal of a Blackberry -- it doesn't solve a problem for me that I need solved, and it adds one more piece of crap to my load of things to carry, remember to bring with me, and not leave behind or lose somewhere.

I understand that there are people who either require being in constant contact, or who are simply addicted to their email tether, but I think that market is saturated, and RIM hasn't figured out how to move beyond that niche. That would require some sustaining innovations that make it easier to use, more versatile, more open, better integrated, more generally useful -- more appealing to people like me and beyond that into the mainstream.

But, I actually enjoy the time away from my notebook, and if someone needs to reach me that bad, they probably have my cell number anyway.

Mike Urlocker, my partner at The Disruption Group, would disagree I think. He is also a Crackberry fan, and was the original analyst to identify it as a likely big winner in the market. He doesn't understand why I don't get it, and I don't understand what value he sees in it. He still sees it as disruptive, and I see it as ready to be disrupted.

[mark]

"it doesn't solve a problem for me that I need solved, and it adds one more piece of crap to my load of things to carry, remember to bring with me, and not leave behind or lose somewhere."

I think the market of people (I am one) who feel exactly this way is huge, and one of the key groups targeted by Apple for the iPhone. (The other group is entertainment; the buy once, play on many things people.) Most of the people I work with still carry cheap/free phones, not because they can't afford expensive phones/pdas (they're all making way over $100K), but because they've tried them and they were not useful and ended up in drawers.

Alas, for marital harmony and a MacBook Pro, I'm willing to wait for v2 of the iPhone.

[Paul]

Mark,

You caught my meaning exactly about why Sean's comment was such a good lead-in for my iPhone post. I too am (or should be) a prime member of that audience, but nothing will convince me to go with AT&T, so I guess I'll have to cry in my Apple juice. Apple had better hope that the number of people who lust hopelessly after the new toy dwarfs the number of people like me.

I also tried a more complicated phone a couple of generations ago, but it was so poorly designed and inconvenient to use that I couldn't remember how to use most of the extra functions. I've never learned much beyond the basics on anything since. The iPhone will break that mould, for phones, for PDAs, for "smartphones", and for true handheld computing because the interface is so intuitive and well-integrated. Thanks again.

[Sean Howard]

WANT IPHONE! NOW!!!

sigh...

gotta wait a year to get it in Canada... whimper....