Reflecting on the readings this week, and my initial attempt
at the Back Bay battery simulator, I couldn’t help but listen to the small
voice piping up in the back of my thoughts regarding the current global
pandemic, and its ability to disrupt so many industries, for better or worse,
with such rapid force.
One general example would be the almost immediate shift from
an in-person workforce to a largely on-line one. In less than three months’
time, Zoom went from a niche corporate tool, to a ubiquitous brand and product,
outpacing rival firms that are producing much of the same line of products and
capabilities. Some suggest that Zoom excelled
by incorporating features that echo the functionality (and fun) of social media,
such as appearance enhancing, backgrounds, and easy-to-use features (Gilbert, 2020). Thinking generally, to a quote from CISCO’s
CEO, “The best indication of when to make the jump frequently comes from our
customers.” (Chambers, 2016). He goes on
to indicate that often it is the customers not only indicating which direction
or focus to take but also connecting that organization with the technological
inspiration to do it.
Thinking more specifically to my current industry of higher
education, everyone is currently looking to the fall, with a will-we-or-won’t-we
approach to re-opening campuses and re-engaging with students and alumni in
person again. From an Inside Higher Ed opinion piece, Jose Bowen sums up
our hesitant nature by noting, "Humans have a bias to wait for more
certainty, but when new information is almost certain to be contradictory and
chaotic, we are waiting in vain. More uncertainty is coming, not less."
(Bowen, 2020). He goes on to note that
making plans is fine and necessary, but that remaining nimble and open to
redirecting your efforts is critical. An
organization’s ability to recognize that it is more important now to move with
urgency and recognize that they will make mistakes, as a result, will be part of
the process. (Bowen, 2020) Certainly, this is not a new approach, as author
Clayton Christen noted 20 years ago in the Innovator’s Dilemma, “But in
disruptive situations, action must be taken before careful plans are made.” (Christensen,
1997). As he theorizes in this week’s reading,
leaders that aren’t able to tell where the market is or is heading (as is the
case for so many of us right now in this strange day-to-day existence), can
work with a more open mindset, evaluating the questions they need to ask to
find the information they need to know. This comes full circle back to Chamber’s thought
that, “By the time it’s obvious you need to change, it’s usually too late. Very
often you have to be willing to make a big move even before most of your
advisers are on board.” (Chambers, 2016)
Educational institutions, and organizations in general, that will succeed during this global disruption, will be those who move nimbly, acknowledge errors and change course as needed, learn as they go, and keep pursuing forward momentum towards the avenues that align where their customers and their strategic plans want them to go.
Chambers, J. (2016, January 8). Cisco's CEO on Staying Ahead of Technology Shifts. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2015/05/ciscos-ceo-on-staying-ahead-of-technology-shifts
Christensen, C. M. (1997). Discovering New and Emerging Markets. The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.