Disruptive Innovation

Disruptive innovation was brought about by Clayton M. Christensen, a Professor at Harvard Business School.

Yet disruption is such an uncomfortable, provocative, and crazy word to be used side by side with the word ‘innovation’ which means ‘making something better’.

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We have a love-hate relationship with technology because we are yet to strike a balance while using it. Technology thrives by causing disruption. We are fearful of disruption. It comes with disarrangement, upset, and interference in our lives. We love the convenience of modern technology but resent it when it replaces us like what has happened with robotics.

It makes us lose our value as humans as it becomes our rival. We are nurtured to rule over things, not compete with products of our own making. We chose to make robots to perform the tasks we disliked but soon realised that we could also cut costs by making them perform functions that were originally performed by humans.

We wanted minimal disruption, and if possible, a gradual disruption because our brains will never become used to the shock of being disrupted. It makes it unpredictable. It makes us lose patience.

Renowned musician Mozart once performed a very rich presentation to an audience which showed no appreciation of his performance. It was beyond their comprehension. It was too much. It failed. Disruptive Innovation will, at times, fail.

Wait a minute! Did the good professor at Harvard want to create balance by adding innovation besides the word disruptive? Innovation means ‘refinement’ just as it does with gold which must pass through fire. It also means change and change can be painful. It means a better system of working by analysing, gathering, and organising ‘old and new’ in a brilliant manner.

Innovation involves repurposing a source of distress to achieve a system that works better.

By Irene Yawazee

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