A lot of words have been devoted to a concept called the digital transformation, and there is a reason why. All organizations are currently navigating through digital transformation. If you think you’re not, you better take a look in the mirror. Technology is causing disruptions in every industry and causing the pace of change to dramatically increase.
Many people consider change as a steady process. This is wrong. Change is not steady. It is much less constant and also more dramatic.
Change often occurs in the following cycle:
No Change – Big/Radical Change – No Change.
The reason for this is that the key drivers for change emerge rarely and suddenly. They tend to lie dormant for a long time and then unexpectedly appear.
This type of stepped change is true in the natural world. Consider the path to mastery in any endeavor. As George Leonard points out in his book Mastery, those working to master anything will spend most of their time stuck on a plateau. The advances towards mastery appear abruptly. That’s why the attainment of mastery can be such a painstaking process.
Steeped change also presents itself prominately in the world of technological innovation. Innovations are not fixed. A technology invention typically takes a period of time to pass from idea to implementation. It must pass from idea to concept to design to prototype to error-prone version to the next version, etc. This all before it ultimately breaks through to actually becoming a usable product. Then this innovation suddenly is commercially viable and available, and often is found seemingly everywhere. All see the finished product, but what they do not see is the painstaking process behind it.
Technology change does not occur in an steady or evolutionary manner but rather in a stepped or revolutionary manner. It is followed by a flat period of change absorbtion that includes low rates of change. This continues until the next radical change occurs and the cycle is repeated.
A question to consider here is which is easier to deal with: lots of small changes all of the time or less consistent yet larger changes followed by periods of plateaus?
The answer to this question likely depends on how short the period of absorption is following a radical change. As the time span between large changes gets shorter, the ability to successfully absorb the change becomes more difficult and challenging. Then, before you know it, you’re staring another dramatic change smack in the face.
Consider the effort and energy needed to climb a more gradual set of stairs with adequate landing areas compared to climbing a steep set of stairs that has smaller or uneven landing areas. The latter is harder, requires far more effort and balance, and is actually more dangerous.
In technology, we have seen many of these large stepped changes over the last thirty to forty years, and there consistency has dramatically increased.
From room-dominating mainframes to desk-sized personal computers, from a few connected networks to a global internet, from online shopping to social networks, from mobile devices to wearables and implantables, the rates of radical change has increased dramatically. Just consider the disruptive potential of artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
Each of these big changes (along with the smaller more incremental changes in between) has forced us to reconsider how we interact with and benefit from these innovations. As you can see, there is now much less absorption time before the next big change. For someone attempting to navigate their organization through all of this change, it can be fairly frustrating and expensive, not to mention exhausting. As a leader however, this is necessary to navigate to avoid missing opportunities or losing market share to competitors who are more able to capitalize on innovation.
The one thing you absolutely cannot do is to expect tomorrow to be anything like today. Just ask Borders, Kodak, or the vast majority of music chains. Change is inevitable. It’s how you prepare for change that matters.
The challenges for businesses in this rapidly changing landscape is how to recognize and utilize each new technology wave at the same rate or greater than your competitors. More importantly, you must continually keep pace with your customers. Customers will generally absorb new technology far faster than will most businesses. Lag too far behind and you will not rise up to the ever-increasing demands and expectations of your customers.
The consequences of such a lag can be severe. It can create a negative impression of you and your capabilities in the eyes of your customers. By consistently lagging behind change, you risk being viewed as out-of-date or slow to adopt. This could extend far beyond technology and into your core products and services. For instance, something as simple as a poorly managed email drip campaign can make even the most highly respected organizations seem juvenile.
So there is now change coming faster and with less time to effectively absorb this change. Add in customer expectations that demand more coupled with a growing impatience for those who don’t deliver (obviously a problem that is compounded inside organizations that serve younger demographics). How does one cope?
You can no longer simply wait for, and react to, technology change. It is important to anticipate change more now than ever before. You must see the future, plan to meet it when it arrives, and not be surprised when it comes banging on your door.
You might find it difficult to manage all of this alone. If you have questions concerning the law or legal matters, you consult a lawyer. Similarly, for tax rules and regulations you might hire an accountant. You do not internally try to learn the law or study accounting, because this would distract you from your core business. You need to invest your time focusing on your core business not outside specialties such as the law and accounting, although they are important.
The same is true of technology. For anticipating disruptive technology changes, you can utilize a partner who is watching, absorbing, and then translating these coming waves of change. You can use someone who will assess the potential of radical changes and apply them to your business so that you do not fall too far behind and risk the negative impacts that come along with arriving late to the party. You hire someone who can work with you to put in place and execute a plan to keep you prepared for real and coming technology change.
You hire Future Point of View.
You hire FPOV because this is what we do. We keep our eyes fixed on the horizon for coming technology change. We translate that coming change and help you understand how it will affect you. We help you to put a strategy and plan in place, and we help you to execute on that plan.
Begin to plan for the future today so that the future will not harm you and your business. It is painfully obvious that companies like Borders and Kodak did not prepare or plan for the disruption technology caused in their industries.
Technology is revolutionary in its bringing of change. Change is then either absorbed and used well or a threat to undermine you and your position.
At Future Point of View we examine the specific challenges of your organization and industry. We assess your overall technology strategy and implementation (platforms, infrastructure, skill-sets, applications, vendors, processes, etc.) and couple that with a unique understanding of the technology horizon. We take all of these factors and combine them to give you a realistic assessment of where you currently stand and where you need to be now and in the future. We then work with you to create a technology strategy while defining and following the steps needed to realize this strategy. We become your partner, one devoted to helping you navigate the disruptions present in technology innovation. Our focus is to help you stay ahead of your competition, delight your customers, and become a stronger, more able organization.