CHAPTER 7
Technology Disruptors
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Continuous transformation is the new normal. It's absolutely critical to stay current with new technologies that could upend or radically change the way your company does business. Don't get caught behind the curve.
Keep Your Eyes on the Horizon
No industry is immune from disruption. It doesn't matter whether your company makes steel or watches, sells pantyhose or power drills, distributes online video content or craft beers—some other company out there is waiting for you to miss the signals and drop the ball.
Disruptors often come in the forms of new technologies. But they can also arrive as innovative marketing strategies, novel approaches to distributing existing products, or new ways of extending credit.
As a senior executive, you are responsible for maintaining a sharp lookout for potential disruptors and having a plan ready when they appear on the horizon. The company's CIO can be a great source of knowledge about looming technology disruptors and can provide advance warning before they arrive full-blown on your doorstep.
If you are familiar with Clayton Christensen's books, you know what I'm driving at. In the preface to his famous book The Innovator's Dilemma, Christensen lists two basic management principles that often work against continuing success:
- Listening to and responding to the needs of your best customers
- Allocating resources primarily to innovations that promise the highest returns
As an executive and a ...
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