Disruptive technology is catalyst for change, not the reason

Brian Solis, Special for USA TODAY | USATODAY

(EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is an excerpt from the recently released book, What's the Future of Business: Changing the Way Businesses Create Experiences, by Brian Solis.)

WTF: Changing the Way Businesses Create Experiences (Wiley Publishing; 218 pages; $29.95, $17.80 with Prime, $14.99 Kindle edition; www.wtfbusiness.com)

The customer journey is still evolving. How businesses react and ultimately lead the enhancement of relationships is not solely determined by technology though. To truly get closer to customers takes a culture of customer-centricity, empowerment and innovation.

Saying that we need to get closer to the customer is hardly enough to convince business leaders that the customer revolution they hear about is literally steps away from their office door. To break through requires that someone (read: you) has to make the case to bring change from the top down.

The future of business isn't tied to the permeation of Facebook, Twitter, iPhones and Droids, pins on Pinterest, apps or real-time geolocation check-ins. The future of business comes down to relevance and the ability to understand how technology affects decision-making and behavior to the point where the recognition of new opportunities and the ability to strategically adapt to them becomes a competitive advantage.

Among the greatest difficulties associated with change is the ability to recognize that change is needed at a time when we can actually do something about it. All too often, by the time we realize that change is needed and that we must shift to a new way of thinking, it is already too late. Or worse, competitors recognize the need for change before us, and we are by default pushed into a position where our next steps are impulsive or reactive rather than strategic.

The volume of emerging technology is both awe-inspiring and overwhelming. As new technology makes its way into everyday life and workflow, devices, applications and networks, it disrupts the norm and begins to impact behavior. It is this disruptive technology that over time influences how people work, communicate, share and make decisions.

The question is at what point does emerging technology or new behavior become disruptive? And, more importantly, what systems, processes and protocols are in place that recognize disruption, assess opportunity and facilitate the testing of new ideas?

Not knowing these answers opens businesses up to the risk of Digital Darwinism, when society and technology evolve faster than your ability to adapt. And the reality is that businesses now must forever compete for survival to effectively fight off Digital Darwinism.

A recent advertisement produced by Babson College cited a rather humbling statistic: More than 40% of the companies that were at the top of the Fortune 500 in 2000 were no longer there in 2010.

As we're often painfully reminded, history has a way of repeating itself. Forbes published an article in early 2011 that served as a harbinger for the turbulent and transformative times that lie ahead. The opening line read, "The End is Near: Why 70% of the Fortune 1000 Will Be Replaced in a Few Years."

The author cited a study published in the book Built to Change by Edward E. Lawler and Christopher G. Worley. The study found that between 1973 and 1983, 35% of the top companies in the Fortune 1000 companies were new to the list. Over the next decade from 1983 to 1993, churn jumped to 45%, and then soared again to an astounding 60% between 1993 and 2003. As the author observes, "In other words, over three-fourths of the existing captains of industry will fall from their throne."

This is about the survival of both the fittest and the fitting. It takes more than a new presence in channels to improve customer experiences and relationships. It takes courage. It takes persistence to break through resistance. But, in the end, it's how you work with your leaders, or how you lead, to move toward an empowered and customer-centric culture that sets in motion real transformation.

You have a special path you must follow to set in motion the change that opens the door to improve experiences inside and outside the organization.

Brian Solis is a principal analyst at Altimeter Group, a research firm that focuses on disruptive technology.