Most entrepreneurs are looking for breakthrough products or technology that will disrupt the market. I believe people thinking about disruption have a scarcity mentality. They see everything in business as a zero-sum game. If someone wins, that means others have lost.
To most people, the best way to win is when others lose. That is the wrong mindset to bring into a business. Every industry has potential that hasn’t even been tapped. Rather than look for ways to disrupt an industry and get more businesses out of the market, you need to start thinking about transforming the industry.
There is a clear difference between disruption and transformation. Of course, both have to do with change. The change that disruption brings is injurious to other businesses. While the change that transformation brings is empowering to other businesses.
Disruption yanks the bottom from many businesses and ensures that they die. But transformation focuses on simplifying business practices and making things easy and better. When you transform an industry, every business in that industry benefits. You bring improvement to everyone. Uber, Youtube, iTunes and Airbnb are transformations not disruption.
Uber didn’t send cabs or taxis out of the market. Itunes didn’t send music producers out of business. Airbnb didn’t send landlords out of business. What they did was to create a better and simpler way for everyone to do business. They tapped into the hidden potential of the industry that no one saw.
Entrepreneurs who think disruptions believe that things are scarce and they have to send some people out of the market for them to thrive. They act hostile when they are starting a business. They come in with an aggressive competitive attitude. What they don’t know is that the way they approach the market is exactly the way the market will give back to them.
Those who are ready to transform an industry come with the mindset of abundance, friendliness, and collaboration. They look for ways to provide strength where others are weak and to leverage the capabilities of other companies to create value for everyone. Transformation is all about collaboration to tap hidden potential in the market.
When we work with clients, our target isn’t to help them become disruptive but transformative. We work with them to transform the industry they are in so that on their own terms they can transform their competitors into clients and partners. Transformation makes you a force to reckon, a company that everyone wants to do business with and learn from.
Creating Game-Changing Value
The Truly Human Way is the way of transformation. You have to see the world from an abundance mindset. Transformation simple means changing how the game is played and making it easy for every player to play. It’s not about chasing other players out of the field so that only you have the field to play. It’s improving how the game is played.
When you start thinking of disruption, you are creating a business that will play a finite game. Just as you are getting in to disrupt other businesses, you will always be on the lookout so as not to be disrupted by anyone. It’s the case of those who live by the sword die by the sword.
However, those who build their businesses to transform industries are playing the infinite game. They are playing a game that improves the performance of everyone. They don’t have competitors; rather they transform everyone to be their client or partners (collaborators).
- When you transform the industry, you change the rules of the game: This allows you to determine the call of play and how they game is played. When you decide how the game is being played. Anyone who doesn’t want to play as you decide the play, can find other means to keep playing. However, if they want to be part of the game, they will have to play the game as you call it.
- When you transform industry, you shift the market: Market shift means you move the goal post and change how success is measured. Truly Human Companies are transformative. They measure success in a different way from other companies. When the market shifts, the industry begins to follow their new company that is providing leadership and direction. They build relationship that is transformative. When you shift the market, you move everyone to a bigger opportunity and expand the future to be bigger and better for everyone. Everyone enjoys new opportunities.
- When you transform industry, you create value for everyone: Those who disrupt markets create value for themselves, however those who transform industries do so by creating value for everyone. When we work with businesses including start-ups, we focus on how they can create value for all the players in the market space they are serving. Truly Human Companies create value for everyone.
Game-changing value is the value an organization creates that brings all the players together and give them direction. Unlike, the disruption that results in pain, the game-changing value gives confidence to everyone. It makes the future bigger and better for everyone. It challenges the status quo.
Game-changing value when created does the following:
- Relieve the pain of companies in the industry
- Simplify complexities in the industry
- Leverage strength of companies
- Cover up Weaknesses of Companies
- Help Companies Develop New Capabilities to capture new opportunities
When you create game-changing value, you will provide leadership, direction, and confidence and build new relationships.
You Never Lose; You Only Gain
We can help you install the Truly Human Business Model and Culture so you can transform your industry and provide leadership, direction, confidence and new form of relationship. Contact us and let’s start the conversation. The future of your company and industry may depend on this.
If you are looking for a coaching program that helps your employees improve their performance, get into the Entitlement Free Zone, develop the Value Creation Mindset, become Value Creators, 10X Freedom Expanders and 100X Future Multipliers, consider talking to us. Let’s start the coaching conversation. Contact us at trulyhumanconcept@gmail.com or on Whatsapp at +2349071602727
If you are a Nigerian who have an idea you want to transform into a business, why not join our Truly Human Startup Academy. First Cohort will be in February. We will work with you to reduce the risks of your business, minimize uncertainty of a startup, increase the value of your startup and help you attain product-market fit to attract fund and scale. Interested? Only futuristic business ideas that leverage tech please.
Oladimeji Olutimehin is a keynote speaker, coach and consultant