Jumping the S-Curve
As companies approach a new revolution – they might not even realize it. As I’ve mentioned before, my biggest fear is this could happen within my organization, that we become a “dead man walking,” aka, a company that is already obsolete but doesn’t even know it yet!
One thing that’s critical when you’re Making the Jump is to first recognize that a jump is coming – so you get ahead of it. What exactly are we jumping? It’s S-curves. Here’s what they look like:
In any given industry, a successful business trajectory generally looks like an “S.” The company starts doing multiple and varied types of work, with very little output and not a lot of impact (A).
Then, it reaches an inflection point where the business takes off. In a very short amount of time, the company adds tremendous value, and the impact skyrockets (B).
At some point, incremental improvements will start to have diminishing returns (C). The company now has two options – continue making small improvements and risk plateauing – OR – reimagine the business into something completely new and innovative. That's when you Make the Jump to a new S-curve.
S-curves relate to physical and digital products, but they also can be found across entire industries (think of the jump to the Industrial Revolution). What happens when you Make the Jump as an entire society? That’s a mega jump!
Change is happening faster, and the curves are getting steeper.
It’s pretty clear that the next S-curve is upon us – the AI Revolution. One of my biggest cautions to leaders is to avoid getting swept away. Many companies fail because they either don’t recognize that change is coming, or they don’t realize the impact it will have on them.
I’m here to tell you: You absolutely will be impacted by the next S-curve! But there’s something you can do to prepare: Acknowledge that you are not exempt. You must adapt and Make the Jump in order to survive.
I look forward to sharing more on this and how you can adapt in my next set of blogs!
What other S-curves have you seen – in business or in your personal life? What qualities have made leaders successful (or not) in preparing for change and Making the Jump?
Deposit Services Specialist - Texas Republic Bank
5 年Think of S curves as Stages in life. You have to recognize and prepare for them. Excellent article Sanjiv, also enjoyed the TH19... Thank you.
CFO | CSO | CDO | Board Member | Advisor
6 年Thought provoking as always Sanjiv. This post reminds me of a corollary point: one can't cross a chasm in two small jumps. I think it relates here in that one needs to be purposeful in order to jump S-Curves, vs making incremental changes (small jumps). The latter are what lead to plateaus. I hope you are doing well! Would love to catchup if/when you are next in the Bay area.