Digital Darwinism

Digital Darwinism, Survival of the Fittest In The Age of Business Disruption, by Tom Goodwin, KoganPage Inspire, 2018 

Yes or no?:  The world's most successful companies, such as Amazon, Google, and Facebook, yes even Apple, were built with technology at the core. ?

Its easy to say Yes to that statement, given the hype around AI, intelligent systems, robotics, IoT.  But for manufacturing leaders trying to rebuild a rusted-out infrastructure, the biggest challenge has arrived.  If you are not an Amazon, Google, or even Apple, and your product is not technology - at least on the surface - how to take advantage of leapfrog technology apps and still make money?  That is the US' current manufacturing dilemma.

Author Tom Goodwin argues that the pace of technological and societal change has become so fast that natural adaptation and agility are no longer enough for companies to survive!  It's no longer enough to be lean and agile, but they must also be predictive.  Goodwin describes four ways that companies can go about transforming themselves around digital technology:

1  Self-disruption.  The driving force around self-disruption is to create a business that challenges so many industry norms, and becomes such a valuable and clear consumer proposition, that its likely to become more successful than the original company.  Netflix's decision to segment its business into DVD-by-mail and streaming content was disruption of its original business model, but ultimately proved to be the correct choice.

2.  Continual reinvention.  Companies can improve their market position by undertaking continual and significant changes.  Facebook's decision to buy Instagram for imaging, WhatsApp for instant messaging, and Oculus for virtual reality has allowed it to grow from a $58B company to a $500B+ company.

3.  Measured bets.  The most common approach to innovation is one that is less involved and less deeply ingrained, and more about testing the market and learning about the business environment. BMWs decision to launch electric vehicles has enabled the company to develop new technology that can be used in its traditional automotive business.

4.  Hedge fund.  Corporate hedging is a strategy for investing in high-growth companies that drive value.  Companies like Google Ventures and equivalents from Cisco, Intel, and Dell have been using this approach successfully for some time.

Goodwin's fresh perspective on digital commerce offers manufacturing people a new way to look at innovation -- from the end point in.  He says, for instance, that people don't "do" online banking, but instead pay people and make deposits.  They don't "do" digital photography, or online dating, or buy e-tickets to events, but instead take pictures, date people and see shows.  Think end result, don't get stuck on the technology that gets us there.

Patricia E. Moody

FORTUNE magazine  "Pioneering Woman in Mfg" 

IndustryWeek IdeaXchange Xpert

A Mill Girl at Blue Heron Journal, on-line resource for business thought-leaders and decision-makers, pemoody@aol.com, patriciaemoody@gmail.com, tricia@patriciaemoody.com,