Great Disruptions

Not in the classroom, of course. But as thoughts turn afresh to the exciting future for business, it might be worth taking a while to think how things might get turned on their head. Huge surprises are coming for existing firms, with new processes, technologies, innovations, products, competitors and rising nations just around the corner.

These forces are potentially dramatic, and are often labelled as ‘disruptive’. An excellent 30 minute programme from BBC Radio 4’s In Business series would be a great stimulus for returning A2 students in particular.

Here we’re not just talking about the normal product life cycle that leads to once dominant firms like Yellow Pages sliding into terminal decline. My favourite recent example of a disruptive technology is 3D printing , for which the potential impact may be staggering. Some popel might argue that it was a massive, disruptive process (digital cameras) that destroyed a giant like Kodak.

Older readers might have their suspicions about all this, remembering fond 1980s tales of the future “paperless office” (though it may be here sooner than you think ). Listen to the radio programme and have a think what disruptions may lie ahead. They are not just in technology, but sometimes in whole attitudes and approaches to business activity.