The Accelerative Force of Innovation and Disruption in Business

In my latest article, The Power of Speed and Acceleration Dynamics , I shared my perspective on the business world and various markets, describing them as a mental exercise where companies are subject to different forces. These forces are both external (market dynamics, customer demands) and internal (organisational structure, strategic direction, innovation efforts). Together, they result in a shift in position driven by acceleration.

Discovering the Impact of Innovation on Business Acceleration

Acceleration is the result of interacting forces, both external and internal, and is inversely proportional to mass. A company's strategic direction produces changes in direction and speed. Drawing a parallel with the complex business world is risky, but not impossible.

We can imagine the events impacting a company as external forces: market crisis, changes in customer culture, new competitors, but also the influence of internal events such as strategy, investments, operations, among others. All these forces can change the organisation's speed.

The result of the sum of all forces, the vector sum of all forces interacting with an object, is what we call the Force Tensor. The sum of all forces and changes within an organisation is its force tensor, and it is directly proportional to its acceleration relative to the market.

Just as acceleration is inversely proportional to mass, we can also consider that acceleration is inversely proportional to the inertia, complexity, and size of an organisation. In a mature market, with similar competitors, what force can be the most important to accelerate and differentiate our organisation from the rest? From my point of view, there is an internal energy in organisations that generates a force of great value: innovation.

Strategic planning increases communication and motivation among employees. Moreover, companies must cultivate innovation as a form of energy. Employees, who know the company best, when motivated, can reduce operational costs, cut inefficiencies, and improve results. If well trained, they can develop new products and business opportunities. Innovation can also be increased through external collaborations, but if we return to the example of physics, internal energy is more efficient.

All the factors affecting innovation can be imagined as an Innovation Tensor, and each organisation has the obligation to optimise and enhance the values that generate the most benefit. The result is an acceleration relative to competitors that drives growth, increases market share, and improves overall business performance. By effectively managing these innovation factors, companies can stay ahead in the market, continuously adapt to changes, and capitalise on new opportunities.

Elevating innovation to a profound level across the entire organisation.

During late 90s and first part of our century, particularly influenced by digital innovation models, many organisations explored the concept of an innovation hub, seeking to create labs that generated value through new innovation. In essence, they aimed to accelerate a large organisation by developing the force of innovation in a dedicated part of the company.

Physically, this is possible, but it is highly inefficient. The dynamics (and statics) of an extensive body is not a simple problem and is fundamental in architecture and engineering. Organisations are not isolated and fixed points; they are complex structures with multiple interactions, departments, and projects.?

Let’s conduct a? mental exercises using the Business Model Canvas as a theoretical model for organisations. It is a widely adopted model where the center is the product or value proposition. Another area is customer segmentation. Both are connected through distribution channels and customer relationship management (CRM). The block just below these four elements is Revenue Streams, focusing on generating profits. The left side of the product centres on Key Resources and Key Processes. The far left represents Key Partners; the final element is the Cost Structure.

The model is almost perfect in many dimensions, with the product at the center and the core elements of the organisation around it, with customers and other companies at the ends, all based on a foundation of costs/benefits essential for survival.

At what point should we apply the force of innovation? Is it not possible to develop the idea of innovation in each and every space? In physics, the resultant force is the vector sum of all applied forces. As I see it, the innovation of an organisation is the result of all the innovative events that occur in each of the spaces.

Innovation comes from people; their talent, their risk appetite, their understanding of their position in the organisation, and their influence on factors that contribute to success. Educating and nurturing such talent, attracting and developing it, is what can determine the future of an organisation. This energy in each of the company’s spaces is what we can see as the Tensor of Innovation, and every small push in the right direction results in acceleration.

Innovation at Its Peak: A Catalyst for Disruption

Innovations Hubs are not bad ideas, but should not? be the place for innovation more than a moment in time. It should be a valid seed for the full organisation, and extend its practices and the mindset.?

Disruption refers to a significant change or disturbance that interrupts the status quo of an industry, market, or organisation. It often involves the introduction of a new technology, process, product, or business model that fundamentally alters the way things are done. Disruption typically challenges existing norms, practices, or market dynamics, potentially creating new opportunities while displacing established players or methods.

I can't help but understand disruption as analogous to harmonic resonance in physics; small periodic forces close to a system's resonant frequency can produce oscillations of large amplitudes due to the accumulation of vibrational energy.

The key words are small and periodic; small ideas in all areas, the confidence that improving small details leads to better results, questioning the status quo with data, and embracing change. That is the disruptive path.

Few examples are as disruptive as the Fosbury Flop, where an athlete's unconventional style at the 1968 Summer Games made a lasting impact on the sport. In simple terms, Dick Fosbury replaced the traditional scissors jump with a new technique that involved changing direction, adding rotations, and optimising mass distribution.

For more on the physics behind it, see Wikipedia's Fosbury Flop and Olympics.