The Imminent Failure of Business as We Know It

As innovation transforms the business landscape, established companies need to adapt fast to keep up. Start-ups have the advantage due to their fresh perspectives and transparency. The internet and social media have created access to markets and distribution, and alternative financing models like crowdfunding have replaced traditional methods. The competition is about ideas rather than business mechanics, and traditional companies will lose if they don't adapt. Management that drives productivity through a command and control model of oversight and direction is being replaced by more entrepreneurial and agile models of leadership. Start-ups test their models conceptually until they get the core value proposition correct, and then they scale immediately and massively, resulting in disruption that corporations cannot easily comprehend. The gap between old businesses and new businesses is widening and the pace is accelerating, so established companies need to change fast to keep up.