That said, disruption and innovation as buzzwords have become less exciting through overuse and misunderstanding by some technologists and businesses, particularly as they apply to their organizations.  While, as Bill Gates has said, today’s business goes “at the speed of thought”, and agility is critical, there seems to be a lack of understanding concerning the fragility of organizations consisting of people executing on previous editions of goals, commitments, hierarchies and business models.  There are degrees of change that can be accomplished that help alter the direction of a business, a ‘mid-course correction’ on company strategy, if you will.  There are also methods and timings of rolling out these changes, or more radical degrees or types of change that will break an organization.

When considering disruptive change within a company, several areas should be considered. Along side the change, whether to strategy, execution or model, leadership should realistically assess:

(A) How long has it been since the last disruptive change to the organization?

(B) How long it will take to affect the change completely?

(C) How long will the ‘after change stabilization’ take?

(D) How much lost productivity can the organization withstand while the stabilization takes place and the company can begin executing effectively on the new direction?

(E) How clearly do the members of the organization understand the reasoning driving the disruption and can they clearly see the value of the strategy?

(F) What is the degree of ambiguity this will create for all interested parties – customers, partners, shareholders, communities…..everyone….and what is required to manage it through the disruption?

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