The business environment seems to be changing ever more rapidly as the digital innovations of the past few decades have increasing impact on both consumers and the organizations that meet their needs. Executives are in a constant race to redesign processes and restructure their activities to meet the challenges of operating in a ever more dynamic and hypercompetitive world. That challenge will only increase in the coming decades as radical changes bring even more disruption to accepted techniques and practices. There is a growing recognition that the only way to meet this challenge is to leverage disruption as a source of innovation.

Disruptive innovations are not simply new inventions – many disruptions have occurred because innovators took opportunities to create more sustainable business practices that deliver value to all stakeholders. Disruption is the cause of change but to be truly innovative organizations need to exploit the opportunity presented by them. Following are some of the disruptive elements that are creating opportunities for innovation.

• Technology – emerging technologies have been the main drivers of disruption in the last two decades and organizations need to see how they are being used both within their industry and in the wider community to identify how they can be used to gain advantage.

• Business Models – are there new business models that the organization can adopt or adapt to deliver significant improvements in the products or services offered to customers. Is there, for example, a way to move into adjacent markets that competitors are seeing success with or is there an opportunity to provide additional value to existing customers with new business models?

• Globalization – as well as taking advantage of the impacts of globalization to maximize supply chain value, organizations should also look to what global competitors are doing that has disrupted the market and see if there is an opportunity to replicate this in their home market.

• Industry Changes – organizations should constantly look to what novel approaches are being used in their industry and, for instance, whether fragmented newer competitors can be acquired and consolidated to provide better value for the customer. Other shifts, such as the entry or exit of a major player, can also point to disruptive elements that are likely to impact the industry.

The major upheavals that are occurring in the business environment represent both a threat and a challenge. Organizations can meet the challenge head on and leverage disruption as a catalyst to embrace the new methods and processes it demands or they can be left behind.