Creative Disruption – why we should embrace change, not fear it
NO LONGER JUST NICE TO HAVE
All this uncertainty puts the usual year-end technology trend predictions in a somewhat darker context. And all of this got me thinking about the why of disruption.
See, every year, we read the trend reports – this year’s crop was chock full of predictions involving artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, BYOD, low code/no code development, quantum computing, and others – and then we set them aside and go back to work.
Sure, all of those hot trends sure sound incredibly cool – and make no mistake, nerds like us were all talking about them when we got together over the holidays – but for various reasons we fail to take that next step of converting nerdy chatter into real-world action.
Thanks to those dark clouds gathering on the economic horizon, though, all those disruptive new technologies are no longer mere nice to haves. Increasingly, they could hold the key to our future individual and organizational success. – but only if we recognize the need to invest in them sooner rather than later.
In other words, nice-to-have is now need-to-do.
A NEW SERIES
Which is why we’ve decided to launch a new series on our blog that we’d like to call Creative Disruption. We’re hoping this series helps us find the answers to a simple question: what would happen if all those cool technologies we talk about so much – but never actually implement – could suddenly become reality?
Similarly, what if we could put into practice all those amazing discoveries we’ve only talked about at parties, but never actually got to implement once we got back to the office?
Within this ongoing series, we’ll take a closer look at each of these key new examples of tech, and we’ll try to understand why they hold so much potential. To keep things simple, we’ll focus on one key technology or prediction per article. If you’ve got your eye on something in particular, we’re taking requests, as well. Just drop into our website and let us know what you’d like us to focus on.
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
We work with all sorts of companies – of all sizes and across diverse sectors – and we’ve been privileged to have been an integral part of their success. As developers of key software that powers a broad range of businesses, we’ve had a front-row seat to some pretty inspiring business transformations that leverage some of those very same once-aspirational technologies.
As you can tell, we’re proud of the role we play in our clients’ success.
Along the way we’ve also witnessed other companies – not clients of ours – who were perhaps less willing to incorporate disruptive technologies into their business/software roadmap. They generally chose to maintain the status quo, and more often than not decided against embracing the kind of change that could have reshaped their future.
We believe in today’s climate, no company can afford to set disruption aside. Here are five key reasons why any organization – even yours – needs to embrace change and not fear it:
1 – CHANGE KEEPS YOU RELEVANT
Once upon a time, the social media space was dominated by MySpace and Friendster. As newer competitors like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter arrived on the scene, the incumbents failed to adapt their offerings to the increasingly multimedia-, mobile-, and broadband-friendly offerings.
While these onetime leaders may have been afraid to abandon the roadmap that had gotten them to their respective leadership positions in the first place, they were ultimately outflanked by competitors whose agility and willingness to reinvent themselves turned these companies into mere footnotes.
2 – CHANGE STRENGTHENS YOUR BRAND
Organizations that embrace change are infinitely more attractive to stakeholders – clients, prospects, suppliers, media, social media followers, etc. – than those that never have anything new to share.
Regular change – in technology, in market focus, in product/services mix, whatever – gives stakeholders new reasons over time to engage. Lack of change, on the other hand, leaves fewer opportunities to tell the kinds of stories that help brands stay healthy and relevant.
3 – CHANGE HELPS YOU MARKET MORE BROADLY AND EFFECTIVELY
Audience focus is a crucial pillar of all marketing initiatives, yet organizations that fear change are significantly less capable of reaching beyond their known audiences. That’s because organizations that have been staying the course for years on end, have no ability to expand their message beyond their known audience of clients. The fear of the unknown becomes a paralytic of progress.
Status quo is no way to get brand messages in front of prospects and to folks who’ve never heard of the brand in the first place. New audiences have no interest in the same old thing: they’re attracted to the fresh, the new, and the interesting.
4 – CHANGE DRIVES RESILIENCE
The world has become a fast-changing, turbulent, unpredictable place. What worked in the past likely won’t work in future. Organizations that fail to recognize this simple truth are less agile than those that roll with the punches by willingly taking changes with the new.
Businesses who embrace change are better able to tolerate the turbulent markets within which they operate and evolve to meet whatever challenges those markets throw their way down the line.
5 – CHANGE IS ATTRACTIVE TO TALENT
Employees and prospective hires don’t get a lot of attention when it comes to the whole change agenda, but they should. In a market where tech skills continue to experience historic shortages, where key roles remain vacant for months and years, and where organizations struggle to attract and retain the best of the best, a change-forward culture is a critical factor in turning the talent tide.
Let’s think about it: where would you rather work? Somewhere where employees struggle with obsolete tools and leadership that won’t listen to calls for change? Or an environment where staff suggestions to introduce disruptive technologies and processes are welcomed and encouraged?
We know where we’d rather work.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Change isn’t just inevitable. And it should never be feared or avoided. It is, in fact, a welcome, crucial ingredient of future business growth and success. Reach out to us anytime if you’d like to discuss it in greater detail – and watch this space for more examples of disruptive technology that can make a difference to businesses like yours.