Every company, large or small, wants to be a disruptor - to break new ground in an industry, boosting revenue and value creation through transformational action. It is more important than ever for businesses to innovate, pioneer, and lead at the forefront of disruption, or they risk the opposite - being disrupted instead.
This is the message of Harry Narang, Partner at Skillbook Academy, founder of Unleashed Agile, a consultancy that has helped over 25,000 professionals and 100+ companies embrace new and innovative steps to achieve profitable growth. The consultancy's suite of services includes scaled agile training, product consulting, and portfolio management coaching.
Microsoft, Amazon, and the U.S. Air Force are among 100+ clients who have benefited from Harry and his team's expertise. With such an extensive history, Narang says he has identified a shortlist of five traits a successful disrupter needs:
Empowered Teams
Self-organizing teams that work closely with their customers and stakeholders in fast feedback loops, utilizing advanced tools and strategies are critical to successful product development. These teams often work with a coach who helps them stay on track, optimize, and meet business goals and commitments.
Outcome-focused plans with ongoing hypothesis validation
Many traditionally-managed companies and portfolios build plans with a focus on input and output variables like scope, schedule, budget, etc. And yet, when it comes to innovation and disruption, businesses must focus on solving the customer problem and delivering the hypothesized business outcomes - revenue, cycle time, customer satisfaction, user retention, and more.
Strategic alignment across different layers of the enterprise
This trait encapsulates the art and science of building a cohesive company. Clear and seamless communication of strategic priorities from the top all the way down to engineering teams is important, especially when market dynamics and competitive landscape can change very quickly.
Right balance of intentionality and emergence
Striking the right balance between pursuing a medium to long-term vision, catering to the needs of your customer segment, and continuous evolution based on near-term visibility and feedback is a competency that successful portfolios and companies develop.
Extreme customer focus
Even though this trait is indirectly woven into many other traits, it still deserves to be highlighted. Disruptive tech companies and portfolios have developed a healthy obsession with detail when it comes to understanding their customers. They dedicate time and resources to market research, focus groups, user interviews, ongoing market feedback, and new hypothesis development, while non-disruptors make guesses and use personal judgment to make decisions on behalf of their customers.
"If you are reading this and feel like you are nowhere close to possessing all of these traits, that's fine," says Harry. No business starts with all of them; the pursuit of growth and optimization is ongoing.
In Harry's words: "Pick a small improvement in your product development approach to start with. Implement this with a small team, then continue on your optimization journey."
