Take 5: 5 Crucial Steps to Avoid Disruption & Capitalize on Change

This stuff isn’t new. Industry analysts, journalists, pundits and everyone else who makes a buck or gains a follower with buzzwords and jargon may want you to think it is, but it’s not.

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” Socrates said that about 2500 years ago, and it’s still true – in both your personal and business life.

I just did a search for “Transformation” in Google, and in 0.63 seconds, I had about 1,020,000,000 results at my fingertips. That’s a lot. We’re inundated with promises and warnings when it comes to business transformation. 54% of respondents to a recent Couchbase poll are worried that their business will fold if their digital transformation fails. And with the hallmark stories of Uber crushing taxi companies, Airbnb crushing hotels, and Amazon crushing brick and mortar, the fear of disruption is ubiquitous.

At the end of the day, though, transformation simply means change. Smart businesses understand
their processes and how their customers prefer to engage. They measure and monitor risk, and plan
controls to mitigate issues. They do the work to become and remain compliant with emerging regulations, and they strive to continuously improve the quality of their output and the satisfaction of their customers and employees. It’s all about understanding and managing your current environment while keeping an open mind and an open eye on better alternatives that inevitably appear.

There are no sacred cows. Change when necessary. Your customers, your employees and your shareholders will thank you. They’ll enjoy better products, services, experiences and ROI.

I hope that the insights in our latest whitepaper help you to assess and prioritize the steps that you can champion to help your organization capitalize on change and avoid disruption.