In the judgment of respondents to the October column, repeating the development of disruptive technologies is an admirable but elusive target. Respondents commonly asked whether it is a process disrupted by too many factors—some of them a product of human nature—and all of which have to be managed effectively on a continuing basis.
As Richard Eckel put it, "'Disruptive' is the clue for why the proposed method of sustained growth will fail in most organizations ... B-schools graduate and laud those who are risk averse and self-indulgent optimizers of existing systems ... business processes [are outsourced] under the pretext of 'cost savings' ... huge compensation packages [encourage cautious leadership]." Mainak Banerjee, in concurring with Eckel's latter point, says, "The worst thing that can happen to a healthy business is to run into problems while you were spending your time on disruptive innovations!" M. P. Singh, a manager in the public sector, suggests, "Expecting corporate culture to tolerate or encourage radical change or innovation is like expecting a country to encourage rebellion against itself." Stever Robbins points out that, at its heart, the problem is a matter of "human nature. People aren't inherently fond of disruption." And Chirag Patel opines, "investors will not be easy on such companies..."
Nevertheless, most respondents thought that the pursuit of the disruptive growth engine was a worthy, if elusive, goal requiring further attention. "This is not an unnatural act but an essential feature for any business," according to K. Hariharan. As Patel points out, "... the right strategic pathways to be followed during disruptive technology adoption at the time of the introduction of this technology still remain a dilemma even after the introduction of 'the innovator's solution.' Research in this direction would be welcome." B. V. Krishnamurthy takes the idea to another level by commenting, "The heart of business success in the future may be in altogether different forms of innovation: process innovations ... innovations in the way we think ... innovations in organization structure ... and so on."
These comments pose the question of whether too many elements, many of them counter to human nature or the training we receive, have to come into alignment over too long a period of time for the disruptive growth engine to function. Can the appropriate culture be created and rewarded and the process—or as Patel terms it, the "pathways" —be designed and managed successfully over sustained periods of time? What do you think?