So what does it really mean to be 'Out of the Box' or 'Disruptive'? These have been buzz words for so long that it's almost outdated now and I guess this is the zillionth time someone's writing about it. But I'll give it a shot anyway because I believe that enough still hasn't been said or done to encourage this in everyday life.One thing I can say for a fact is that 'Out of the Box' does not mean 'something nobody saw coming or understands and is therefore brilliant and profound!' Although that is how many people and companies have perceived it and fallen flat on their faces as a result. Remember the vacuumizer? The video phone? Or even that show on TV many years ago that allowed you to call in and pick the story ending of your choice. Who needed all of that? We look for things in life that are a lot simpler. Like Google or everyone's best friend today - Wikipedia; I mean for someone to think of a free search portal made of only contributions!! Now that's brilliance and truly disruptive.
Another case in point that I'll talk about here is a pint sized 90 something minute film called Aamir that came out a week ago out of nowhere and completely blew me away.
Almost the entire movie has been shot with one actor on the crowded streets of Dongri and Bhendi Bazaar using hidden cameras. I thought this technique was very effective because it allowed more penetration for the viewer ... as if we are really there.
The soundtrack is also edgy and interesting. Some songs have the exact opposite rhythm and feel to the scene and I thought was more 'in your face' than ever. Despite these and more interesting innovations used, the message of the film is never compromised. Objectivity is still there throughout the movie and the profoundness of the message stares at you with a thousand eyes at the end.
I end here by pointing out that new and disruptive thinking, therefore has its place in the world. If an Aamir works, it is because of its 'out of the box' dimension and 'risk taking' involved.
'Disruptivity' is going to be 'survival' tomorrow and I bet there's definitely more where all this came from. I'll certainly keep you posted on anything interesting on the topic. For starters I intend to finish the book - 'The Black Swan Theory'. And tell all about it. If it doesn't ring a bell yet, why don't you 'wiki' it?
I myself am a fan of the 'out-of-the-box' thinking. If we see this blog-post, this too is a good example of out-of-the-box topic to write on. This was a mix of a movie-review and management writing. Thanks a lot for this. Now I will definitely not let Aamir go missed.
The term 'disruptive technology' though seems a bit not clear. It is too close to a pure innovation. For example, Wiki was a completely new new approach from the back-end, means the way they got the information stored there. But from the front end, it is still an encyclopedia! Many existed from before. But some of the features, like simplicity, interlinking, and ever up-to-date information are completely unmatched. Similarly, there are many other examples which look more like pure innovation or path breaking technology than a 'disruptive' technology. Am I taking this too literally?
I think by ‘Disruptive’ Aparna means – Against the regular scheme of things. & I too think that disruptive thinking is a powerful way to innovate. It all depends what your innovation is leading to. A break-through innovation leads to further researches & philosophical pursuits, while it’s these disruptive & adaptive approaches that make these breakthroughs adaptable practically. Both have their own merits & both are innovations in their own way. Haven’t you heard you about cross-functional innovations? That’s what disruption is all about…
I hope you agree with me Aparna…
Thanks very much Rahul and Madhur for your comments. Its always great to see a similar passion for the new and the untried.
Yes Madhur, like you said Innovation is a neccessity for disruptivity.
But within this, what I essentially wanted to bring out is the simplicity and yet rarity of it all. When something just hits you from nowhere is when you truly understand and appreciate the uniqueness of it.
And Wikipedia achieved that. Nobody thought of using unverified user generated content as a Bible of information right? That was all achieved because of the unmatchable backend as Rahul said. And yet it has been so easy to make it a part of our everyday lives. Thats the radical magic that I'd say was disruptive. Coz Wikipedia I think has successfully challenged existing paradigms.
What are your thoughts?
I have not read the "Black Swan Theory" but on the face of it and from what Aparna has mentioned in her post it sounds very similar to another theory "The Blue Ocean Theory".
Wikipedia, the movie aamir are few of the many examples where someone or a group of people challenged the laid down norms of doing a particular thing and created a totally new value proposition for the customer. This i guess matches with the "Disruptive Thinking" approach proposed by the Black Swan Theory. Also Aparna has captured a very important point -- Dont differentiate just for the sake of differentiating. There should be some value for your end consumer in that differentiation. The rewards from that differentiation should exceed the cost of differentiating or else it will belong to the category of failed products such as the video phone, etc..
Blue Ocean theory is about reconciling a quantum leap in value for your end consumer with low cost.
Coming to the point raised by Rahul Kumar, he may find the below somewhat interesting -- Innovation (Blue ocean, Black swan, at the heart capture the same idea and that is innovation) is not restricted just to the product. It can be introduced on 3 different platforms. Which according to the Blue ocean are -- Product, Services, Delivery. Now if we try to map them to the case of wikipedia we can say that they introduced innovation on the delivery platform not on the product. If we agree to the fact that their final product is information then we can say that they didnot differentiate themselves on that front. They differentiated them selves on the way they delivered it -- hassle free, easy, free, realtime etc....an analogy could be that dell was successful initially not because it was offering a differentiated product but because of the way it delivered that product. Hope what i said makes sense. PLease feel free to leave your comments