Strategic Disruption

'Disruptive Innovation' is to the first decade of the 21st century buiness world as 'Process Reengineering' was to the 1990s. It's on the toungs of all the big execs'.

Thing is, Process Reengineering is text book stuff. Follow a step-by-step manual and Hay-Presto, a stream lined higher value-adding process.

But Strategic Disruption, in terms of innovation and the competitive context, is all togther another thing.

Strategic Disruption is not text book stuff. It's highly visceral and mind intense. Ultimately it's about living it.

You can't simply sit at a desk and think up ideas that 'shake-up the market;' 'attract waves of new higher value customers;' and 'ultimatly knock out the competition.' No indeed. Living it is a prerequisite.

Here's 6 Rule for Strategic Disruption.

Rule 1: Continually reach for the cusp: It's @ the edges; the leading edges of ideas, knowledge, technology and markets that you'll find the scope and unique opportunities for disruptive innovation.


Rule 2: Look for the unobvious: How can ideas from the edge be applied and solve real and current problems in ways that dramatically enhance customer experience and value?

Rule 3: Look directly at customer's evolving and unexpressed needs. Whether the customer demands something smarter, faster, stronger, cheaper, lighter or easier; the customer's emerging demands will open up a doorway for Dsruptive Innovation.


Rule 4: Look for changes in customer behaviour: Customers also evolve in terms of their habits and routines as well. Look for changing patterns in the way they go about their daily and business life. Are there any new issues, novel processes, or situations that have sprung from the blue that could open up an opportunity for disruptive innovation.

Rule 5: Do something out of character and goes against the common grain: We stop ourselves from throwing the gantlet because we 'feel' that we don't want to upset people. But people are all the same. We all think many of the same things, but hold back. Yet those that do open up often win. Riky Gurvage's trick is to tell the blazeon truth (as bent as it is). Is it inappropriate to say 'Big Nose?' Ricky does, and has disrupted the comedy world with a storm.

Rule 6: Develop a disruptive mindset: Seeking the disruptive comes through a collective of a way of seeing the world and emotional intensity. This is a hard sell. Because its is about terms and expression such as 'intuition,' 'feeling it in the waters,' and 'I can see it coming.' Take the book market! 10 years ago, I knew - knew as in felt - that the book world would be disrupted by (1) the internet, and (2) digital hardware design. That's the beginning of the Strategic Disruption mindset. However what I'm talking about is more than that. It is a deliberate effort and commitment to building/developing a mindset that automatically orientates one to Discontinuous Innovation.