Most midmarket companies will experience disruption, but that doesn’t have to mean an interruption of business
Amazon disrupted retail. Uber disrupted cabs and limos. Twitter disrupted an entire presidential election. Disruption has societal implications, forcing businesses to change from the outside-in to meet consumer needs and keep up with competition.
The middle market is no exception, says Geoffrey Moore, an organizational theorist and author of Crossing the Chasm. Manufacturers, doctors and lawyers will be disrupted by technology just the same as bookstores, New York cabbies and the American electorate.
The disruption of digitalism is akin to the move from the Agricultural Revolution to the Industrial Revolution, Moore says. Instead of new farming techniques bolstering a larger and healthier population, the Digital Revolution is increasing business efficiency, easing communication and giving consumers push-button gratification.