Here is a very interesting article that speaks to this topic at more of a company level (as well as several other very interesting insights) - it's really good stuff, guys, from Brian Solis, "How to Build a Culture of Innovation by Killing Mediocrity Pt. 1" by Brian Solis...
Excerpt:
Change Happens to You or in Spite of You
If companies do not disrupt themselves, disruption will eventually disrupt them. In any risk averse culture, this premise sounds absurd of course. Why would anyone challenge the status quo? Why would anyone dare to think different? As many executives I’ve worked with initially would point out, “We are profitable today why would we rock the boat?”
The number of answers or excuses voiced to these questions is beyond great, it’s blinding.
- Technology is affecting customer behavior to the point where expectations and values are becoming radically different than what you stand for today.
- Technology and changes in behavior are opening and closing customer touch points.
- Today’s executives are out of touch with how younger customers and employees think, relate, and communicate.
- Workforces are aging and are not challenged to learn new skills or systems.
- Millennials are overwhelming personnel balances and creating conflicts in how they work versus how they’re trained to work.
- Supply chains are squeezed as businesses compete in real-time.
- Competitive threats are rising out of nowhere as anyone with an idea can use new platforms such as Kickstarter and indiegogo to generate customer awareness and support.
The list goes on. This is why any and all companies must accept that this is the end of business as usual. To survive, they must find leverage in digital Darwinism. They must accept that technology and society are evolving faster than current infrastructures, and philosophies, can adapt. Those that refuse to change now and over time will ultimately succumb to digital Darwinism by intentionally competing for irrelevance. Times change. So must you.
What do you think?