When Fosbury Flopped: Three Lessons for Disruptors

Innovation typically follows a pattern with three counterintuitive lessons that can help determine whether you end up disrupting the market or being disrupted. The first lesson is to stop trying to do what others can't do. Instead of focusing on owning technology or capabilities that deny your competitors the same, look for ways to offer something unique. The second lesson is to seek cognitive entrenchment by identifying where incumbents are repeating themselves and have stopped thinking, making them resistant to adopting new approaches. Finally, embrace new concepts instead of relying on technology alone, as it is not the technology itself but the adoption of new ways of thinking around it that controls the pace of innovation.