Overview

‘Disruption’ has become a buzz word in the business world. But what is a disruptive change-maker? In this course you will learn how to deploy disruptive strategic thinking to develop or protect your organisation’s competitive advantage. The most innovative and successful companies have all fundamentally disrupted and reshaped existing industries, or created completely new ones. But which strategies and technologies can you use to be disruptive and take the next step for your organisation? Via structured learning activities (video lectures, quizzes, discussion prompts and written assessments) you will enhance your ability to think strategically and become your organisation’s disruptive change-maker.

Syllabus

Change and disruptive innovation

This week, you will explore two main questions: why do great companies fail; and what are some macro-environmental factors that cause change within the organisation?. You will investigate the innovator’s dilemma and try to find out if adoption of technologies is speeding up (or not). You will use tools to help you consider macro-economic factors and the impact that these would have on your organisation (PESTLE analysis). Additionally, you will apply tools that will help you determine if your next technology (or one from your competitor) is likely to be disruptive. Welcome to be disruptive!

Enablers, not drivers

In week 2 you will get ‘techie’ by exploring a number of technologies that are often seen as potentially ‘disruptive’. Additionally, you will discuss how these technologies are currently used by organisations globally. More importantly, you will explore ways to stay up-to-date with technological advances. You will also explore technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Business models

This week you will focus on viability and specifically look at business models. You will begin by looking at the four (4) main elements of a business model: value proposition, resources, processes, and the profit formula. You will look at the business model journey, and how organisations move from creating a business model, through sustaining innovation, up to efficiency. You will explore the importance of developing new business models with a framework (the 4I's framework) to help you come up with these new business models. Finally, you will look at business model patterns, as recombining, adapting, and refining business model patterns is an efficient way to do business model innovation.

Disruption and Digital Platforms

This week you will learn about platforms, what they are, how they’re different from other business models, the different types of platforms, and how to create successful platforms. You will also learn how to decide if you should create your own platform.

Design Thinking

This week, you will take a more in-depth look at viability, desirability, and feasibility through the human-centred approach to creative problem solving – design thinking. You will explore the different stages of design thinking, with close attention paid to empathy maps, brainstorming and prototyping – a taster to inspire you to learn more about this method.

Responses to disruptive innovation

Now that you have a good foundation for ‘being disruptive’, you will now explore where to innovate next through a framework that looks for gaps that need to be filled. The faultline framework contains five areas to be considered when looking for these gaps: customer needs, performance metrics, business model, talent, and industry position. You will also investigate how to protect your organisation from disruption and consider different views on what is at the heart of disruption.