Listen to the introduction lesson below, or read the transcript.

Lesson Transcript

We, humans, have a knack for finding new ways to do things, and our discoveries have often changed our lives beyond all recognition. Simple flint tools painstakingly crafted using skills passed down from generation to generation were out of date with the dawn of the Bronze Age.

In the Middle Ages, the invention of the printing press began the communication revolution, which continues today on the internet. 

But never in the history of humanity has the pace of change been as fast and as widespread as it has today with the digital revolution, and I got an early insight into this first-hand when I worked in the music industry in the 1990s. 

Working for a record label was an exciting place to be. Back then, music labels were cultural gatekeepers dictating which musicians made it and which didn’t. They controlled the mainstream because they made it. 

They scouted the groups, produced the tracks, and sold it on shiny new CDs - the first major digital innovation in music. Before CDs music was made on vinyl discs with grooves in it that a needle physically bumped over to produce the sound. Record technology was almost a century old, but CDs were new. They were so small and strong in comparison to vinyl records and produced superior sound quality.

While they were still produced in large factories, shifting the manufacturing lines to the compact disc was a massive financial investment. Everything had to change when the CD came along.

Then one day, a colleague approached me, waving an article about the MP3 player. He was really excited because this tiny device would let us take all our tunes with us, and we would no longer need to lug around CDs or cassette tapes. It was revolutionary. And we had to read about it in the newspaper, not been briefed about it in a staff meeting.

Let’s just take that in for a minute. Music industry staff were hearing about the next innovation in music delivery systems at the same time as the public. It wasn’t the music labels or even the stereo manufacturers who were innovating the way people were listening to music. It was computer manufacturers. At this point, no one from inside the industry had noticed the enormous potential of using data storage systems for music.

We all know what happened next. The computer manufacturer, Apple launched the iPod and iTunes. They disrupted traditional sales channels. Then technologically-savvy kids started downloading illegally and blew the lid on the labels monopoly. CD sales declined exponentially, and the industry looked like it was going to implode. The fact is the labels simply didn’t see it coming, and they have never quite recovered. Many have disappeared altogether.

Now think of taxis? -> Uber. 

Hotels? -> Airbnb. 

Retail? -> Amazon.

The common thread here is that these industries have been reactive in their response to innovation in their field. When businesses have operated in one way for a very long time, they don’t want to undergo change. They watch to see what will happen next, often not realizing that their foundation is being shaken until it’s too late.

Retrospectively, it is easy to say the music industry missed a massive opportunity. With significant assets like their music library and merchandise, they could have preempted Spotify. They could have opened online stores selling downloads. But their legacy investment in CDs blinded them, and their lack of agility meant they were unable to utilize what they had. So other smaller players got ahead of the curve.

This is a pattern common across disrupted industries. The existing big players have not been the ones to instigate change, but they have reacted to the changes happening to them in a number of ways.

Some have brought in external innovators or set up separate innovation labs to address the issue. But these have been tacked on to the main company like a third leg - a rather useless appendage adding little value to the whole.

Others have seen digital disruption as an aspect of marketing or advertising, and by pigeon-holing it in this way missed the bigger picture. Some have latched on to each new buzzword - artificial intelligence, blockchain, mobile-first, the cloud, big data, the Internet of Things - and paid consultants millions to ensure they’re seen to be using these technologies to create a competitive advantage.

But this doesn’t address the heart of the problem. It’s papering over the cracks.

So what can we do to ensure our companies can become outliers for their industry? 

The solution is to devise a digital strategy that covers every aspect of the business, every department and truly understands the business as a whole. Then implement a culture shift from the Boardroom to the ground floor.

To not only survive but to thrive in the digital era, we need a culture of innovation. 

It can be done. And this course will teach you how.