MARK BOURIS: THE FOUR QUALITIES OF A DISRUPTOR

THE TERM “DIGITAL DISRUPTOR” IS BOUNCED AROUND BUSINESS CIRCLES MORE THAN A TENNIS BALL AT A GRAND SLAM – MUCH LIKE “ENTREPRENEUR” IN THE EARLY 2000S. BUT WHAT DO PEOPLE MEAN WHEN THEY USE IT? YELLOW BRICK ROAD AND TZ LIMITED CHAIRMAN MARK BOURIS, SHARED HIS THOUGHTS ON WHAT DISRUPTION MEANS AT THIS YEAR’S VANTAGE EVENT.

“In the ’80s when I was a lawyer, ‘entrepreneur’ was a dirty word, almost associated with being sinister, greedy and reckless,” Bouris said.

“In fact, you never invested in an entrepreneur. There is a new dirty word, which is the ‘disruptor’. Disruptors are the new entrepreneurs.”

However, Bouris highlighted that we need disruptors to make progress.

“Disruption and entrepreneurship in this country are vital for our survival.”

Businesses need to become more responsive and proactive about change. Preparing for disruption means focusing on the human side of business and trusting employees to make decisions.

“At the same time, business leaders need a cool head to manage in this chaotic environment – either the company evolves or goes extinct. However, this volatility is ultimately good for business”, Bouris said.

“The volatile environment of business and politics also presents an opportunity for Australia to become a more environmentally conscious country,” Bouris added.

“How do we control the volatility and create more sustainability? Instead of focusing on the big things, we need to inspire, nurture and look after entrepreneurs and the business owners who create the little things – the day-to-day stuff – and run a country based on sustainable industries,” he said.

Disruption might be an overused term, but it isn’t without its value.

“Preparing for disruption means increasing a company’s adaptability and empowering employees.”

WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE A GREAT DISRUPTOR

EMPATHY

Understanding what the customer wants, not what you think they want. Companies should promote themselves – from top to bottom – as the middle man to people’s hopes and dreams. Effectively delivering what people want is to have empathy for them, to see a problem and genuinely want to fix it.

DURABLE EMOTIONS

Resisting the urge to panic in today’s volatile business environment. “Today, we are living in volatile environments – politically volatile, economically volatile and, in some extents, even religiously volatile. That volatility is the new norm and today, in business, you need to have durable emotions to handle this volatility.”

ACCOUNTABILITY

Answering to other people in the business to help drive momentum. Who are you answerable to? It isn’t enough to answer to yourself.

DOING THE BORING STUFF

Rolling up your sleeves and doing the daily administrative grind. Being boring is a big part of being a disruptor – it isn’t all rock and roll at the top.

https://exchange.telstra.com.au/2015/10/08/mark-bouris-four-qualities-disruptor/