Disruptive Innovation: Disruption In the Time of Cholera

Let’s make things clear. Disruptive is anything that produces a sudden rupture, or a change of paradigm. 

Disruptive isn’t only that which produces earthquakes that crack and separate Pangea. It’s something that also creates new continents, more fascinating and richer than they ever were before. Disruption is a clean slate – an opportunity.

Technology is a field where these shake ups are most noticeably felt. We don’t talk about discoveries that involve improvements, advances, comforts. We speak of “adapt or die”.

We can mention one very obvious one as an example: the surge of personal computers. These little devices disarmed even the last of the last adopters; those poor souls who, feverishly cling to their typewriter, or their fountain pen.

Do you know what “creative destruction” is?

Innovation is closely related to technology, as technological advances allow, or force, a change of mentality, and also open the doors to never before imagined benefits. These include sending photographs or other files without the need to send via regular mail. Therefore, we must always bear in mind that the disruption is not technology, but the new uses or methodologies that this brings with it. After all, a disruption can also be a new way to do something.

A bit of history of disruptive innovation

The Theory of Disruption was formulated by Clayton Christensen in a B2B context. However, Christensen was not the first to recognize this type of process. Joseph Schumpeter, a Harvard professor in the 40s, also differentiated this type of innovation from that less groundbreaking change, calling it “creative destruction“.

The creative destruction for Schumpeter is characterized by:

•      The introduction of a new product
•      Appearance of new methods of production or commercialization
•      Opening new markets
•      Extraction of new raw materials
•      Creation, or destruction, of a new monopoly

Although these theories go back to the last century, the disruptive innovation is more relevant than ever, as we can clearly see by the indicators outlined by the Harvard professor. Graphene, nanocellulose, artificial intelligence … are just some of the innovations that break the pangea of ​​the system as we knew it, and with which we must evolve.

Innovate or become extinct: the paradigm of disruptive innovation

Can anyone imagine working without a smartphone? Or a company without internet? Or a company that doesn’t know how to take advantage of the data at our disposal? These changes mean that we must always keep evolving and moving.

But how do you innovate? How does one adapt, and how does your organization adapt to disruptive innovation?

How do you innovate?

Before you say anything, we advise you to keep your eyes open. Think about what you need in your day to day at work. Would you like something to be done differently? Can you think of a different way of doing things? Or a different use of a tool that you use every day? Or of a way to make your tasks easier, saving time or money …?

You’ve probably come up some great solutions already. But, can you imagine everything you could achieve alongside your teammates? Your colleagues are the ones who know your needs and objectives best, and they can add more great ideas. Let Nextinit, the innovation and collective intelligence platform, collect this flow of solutions and talent. For 3 months you can try it for free!