A Brief Look at Markets Ready for Disruption

You may have seen the Instagram post about innovating sleep (@modern_business_mind) it was inspired by an even greater question: what markets are ready for disruption? What even is disruption?

Modern day innovation is hand in hand with Disruption. After you skim over that spectacular Wikipedia page, look at this graph:

 the above graph is from a 2015 study published by McKinsey&Company (some more interesting links by McKinsey below) and I think is the right approach to understanding disruption and innovation in the modern day. Looking at digitization, or lack there of, in industries is an excellent data analytic. Surely, innovation doesn't have to be how you digitize something, but I do believe it is in the top 3 questions you have to ask when trying to disrupt, innovate, and change an established industry. Surely, asking the right questions will bring about the best answers when searching for a way to change and impact the world around you.

If you asked me to take this report and make a choice as to which industry I'd disrupt, it would have to be Agriculture and Construction. You'll see they intersect at sections 6, 3, and 5 which basically tells us they're sectors that are labor intensive services with long tails of small firms having room to digitize (I did a gross conjunctive summation there, but I'm sticking to it).

In that scenario, one might say "but if you digitize and innovate labor intensive service jobs, like agriculture and construction, then you're going to take away people's jobs!". Well, I'd argue that the Modern Business Mind would know that digitizing labor sectors doesn't have to mean taking jobs away from hard working people; The Modern Business Mind is all about how one interacts with the present day technology to manipulate and change the world around them . So, instead of taking away and replacing, one could assist and or simplify that daily job and increase a worker's individual productivity while also protecting them, i.e. exoskeleton suit for assembly line workers. 

You can get really interesting and exciting ideas when you start setting parameters based on your values... which in my opinion are some of the most difficult kind of parameters. Difficult is good, as studies show when limitations are set (like not taking jobs away, and only expanding upon the existing task) you start to get more creative. 

Let's answer the question: "What markets are ready for disruption? What even is disruption?" 

My Answer: every  market is potentially ready for disruption, it is you who is not pursuing it. That answer is only enforced by the theory of disruptive innovation. 

Please feel free to comment, critique, and share!

Sincerely,

MBMJeremy

P.S Links mentioned above

• https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/digital-mckinsey/our-insights/the-case-for-digital-reinvention
• https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/digital-mckinsey/our-insights/competing-in-a-world-of-digital-ecosystems
• https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/digital-mckinsey/how-we-help-clients
• https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/business%20functions/mckinsey%20digital/our%20insights/digital%20mckinsey%20insights%20number%201/digital%20mckinsey%20insights_issue%201.ashx