How fast did the movie rental industry change? Just like that.
If you’re in business: how is your business like Blockbuster? How are you stuck in your head and making yourself a potential target to emerging competition?
In business, the psychology of a leader who resists a coming trend in technology is capable of destroying a $4 billion company. Conversely, if you become the leader that can figure out how to use technology to fulfill needs and add value, you become the disrupter not the disrupted.
Consider a few of the most recent technology disruptors. Let’s start with Instagram, which Facebook purchased in April of 2012 for $1 billion. Imagine that. If you came up with the idea of a mobile app to share your photos through filters with friends, you’d have $1 billion dollars. Not too shabby.
Need more proof? Consider WhatsApp, the mobile messaging service Facebook purchased for upwards of $16 billion. WhatsApp was founded in 2009 and three years later it was processing 10 billion messages daily. Unsure about how significantly WhatsApp triggered crisis in the communication industry? Just ask the parent of a teenager. Consider the billions of messages sent via WhatsApp technology FOR FREE, evading the per-text charges of cellular carriers and making it worth its weight in SMS-text-defying gold. It’s even evolved to include free video chat and calling internationally, further shaking up established communications norms.
Participating in tech shifts—not just protecting yourself from them—can make way for your impact in the world and your fortune in business. Ask yourself: What technology could change my business? What technology could we be the first in our industry to employ? How can I be the creator of change? Even if you’re using cutting-edge technology today, those tools will age out. How will your business be ready to evolve?
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