We’ve all seen plenty of disruption over the past year-plus. But believe me when I say disruption is a gift. Here’s why: Disruption offers one of the most golden opportunities. It gives us the opportunity to learn, to change, and to dream. Now is the time to be a student, a change agent, and a dreamer. Learn how to observe what is going on around you, then collect data and examine it.
It takes a certain mindset to be successful in times of disruption. You must believe that by learning, changing, and dreaming, you will not only survive but also come out the other side better. To persist in a new, disruptive environment you must want to do something different and enhanced. That is what your business needs and what your customers need. In fact, that is what they expect from you. Your growth during disruption inspires your customers to learn, to be change agents, and to be dreamers as well. Those who survive and thrive during disruption are those who are able to not only swim in the disruption but swim above it.
This reminds me of Henry Ford’s famous quote: “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right.”
Here are some steps to shift your mindset, embrace disruption, and work toward success, both during and after:
a. Change your mindset from victim to victor. Focus on your ability to find a solution to the disruption instead of blaming or being overwhelmed by it.
b. Become a student of the environment. What are you learning? Keep records of the lessons that are happening right now, both involving you and others.
c. Be current. Examine the macro and micro disruptions that are occurring right now. What is being disrupted and who is being affected? What opportunities are being created? And how can you take advantage of those opportunities?
d. Understand the impact of the disruptions. To what extent is your customer being affected and what is their biggest pain point? Are the pains new due to the disruption or have they been amplified by the disruption?
e. Become a pain manager. Determine what is most needed to mitigate the effects of the biggest pain point immediately, not perfectly but effectively. Identify a specific action you can take, even if it seems small, to address the pain.
Remember, your customers will pay you to remove or reduce their pain first and then pay you later to remove the cause of that pain. Most significant business pains take time to address and to get to the root cause, and that is why pain management is critical, especially during times of disruption.
When you work your way through these five steps, it inevitably leads to creating a solution.
Disruption also gives you a chance to reevaluate your existing products and services, and to identify opportunities to evolve them into timely and valuable solutions. By definition, a solution is a product or service contextually applied to meet a need of a customer. Entrepreneurs, innovators, and business leaders who master customer centricity are the ones who win during and after disruptions.
Header Photo by Cherrydeck on Unsplash.
