Gerald Kane: How To Prepare For The Digital Disruption Headed Your Way

Over a span of only a couple of decades, we’ve witnessed entire industries get wiped out by digital disruption – advances in technology that have decimated traditional business models while ushering in new & previously unimaginable ways of delivering the same service. Very often, the innovators had never been previously seen as being either a threat or a competitor – until it was far too late.

Harmed in the process have been book stores, music stores, video rental businesses, taxi cab owners – even hotels. Gone are companies like Kodak, Borders, Blockbuster – & major newspapers across the world.

In light of this, is it likely that digital disruption will affect your industry and career?  Research shows that nearly 9-in-10 of us believe it’s a certainty. 

But the same detailed study made a truly staggering discovery: only 4-in-10 of us believe our companies are doing enough to prepare.

That leads us to asking: “How do we prepare?” and, What must our leadership mindset be in this era of rapid change to not just endure, but also thrive?”

Working with colleagues from Deloitte & MIT’s Sloan Management Review, Boston College technology professor Gerald Kane spent the past four years surveying 16,000 people about their experience with digital disruption & how well they believe their organizations are responding. And to learn how cutting-edge firms like Google, SalesForce, WalMart and Facebook are working to disrupt themselves, he interviewed many of their top though leaders and innovators.

What he and his team learned through this research is the focus of this podcast – insight every one of us will need in order to successfully maneuver in our careers and in leading our organizations.

One huge take-away from Jerry’s deep-dive is that leaders don’t need to understand the inner workings of artificial intelligence, blockchain & virtual reality to succeed in this new business environment. Instead, what they need to adopt are the qualities of being change oriented, adaptable, open-minded, & willing to experiment & continually learn.

As Jerry writes in his new book, The Technology Fallacy, the response to digital disruption doesn’t call for leaders to focus exclusively on technology. Instead, it requires us to devote ourselves to preparing our people, our cultures & even our organizational structures to respond to the exciting and challenging future ahead.

The good news is Jerry has the roadmap, & brilliantly shares it with you here!

By Mark C. Crowley

Mark C. Crowley is the author of Lead From The Heart: Transformational Leadership For The 21st Century which has been taught in 11 American universities. He is a global speaker, leadership consultant and thought leader on the topics of workplace culture and employee engagement.