BrazilStudy: Disruptive leaders don’t dodge change, but embrace it for the better
Over three quarters of organizations expect big changes to come to their business models within the next three years. Disruptive leaders, more prepared to confront big changes in their industries, will inevitably lead the way – and AI is a big part of disruption for many leading businesses.
Organizations that consider themselves to be disruptive leaders see opportunities (rather than crisis) in a changing business landscape and operate differently compared to organizations that believe they are at risk of being disrupted.
That is according to a global survey of more than 1,800 board members and C-suite executives from global consultancy firm Protiviti. The survey found that 40% of organizations see technology as presenting a significant or moderate risk of being disrupted.
The disruptors
Disruption can span innovations and enablement (like the use of generative Al) to talent and culture; the disparities are remarkable and shed light on critical areas of focus for the board and C-suite. Only 15% of respondents put their organizations into the category of disruptive leader, with many other aspiring to become more disruptive.
So who are the disruptors? They are leaders in their industries, shaking things up and trying new things, staying ahead of the curve by being first to master new innovations. Disruptive leaders tend to focus on modernizing their technology, innovating their business models, and scaling new products, among other things.
AI is a litmus test
With AI being adopted in a wide range of industries, many business leaders see it as a critical innovation to keep up with the competition. A total of 72% of disruptive leaders see generative AI as an opportunity to be a disruptor.
Generative AI is generally seen as high-stakes for companies hoping to disrupt, but its impact ranges from highly beneficial to extremely damaging. It is easy to commit to a solution that does not really work and get it wrong.
Leading organizations see generative AI as a significant opportunity to innovate. In contrast, over 40% of organizations facing disruption view it as a major threat to their business, according to the results of the Protiviti study.
Many companies are already reaping huge rewards from adopting AI tools, including better efficiency and productivity, especially in communications and customer service. The most immediately beneficial use case for many businesses has been to cut back significantly on mundane, routine tasks that can now be automated – in some cases that can be a chatbot or an automated FAQ, for instance.
The financial services sector, interestingly, is most likely to see AI technology as disruptive: 30% of respondents in that sector see AI a presenting a significant or moderate risk of disrupting their businesses.
Tech modernization
Disruptors are generally more confident in their progress in modernizing their technology, with nearly two-quarters of the survey respondents expressing confidence or near complete certainty that their company’s technology modernization initiatives are keeping up with disruption in their industries and markets at large.
These findings show how important it is for organizations to update and continuously improve their existing technology systems, infrastructure, and software. Not only does it improve efficiency and functionality, but it also improves security, which is no small matter as major cyber attacks become increasingly common.
The technology, media, and telecoms sectors have the highest levels of confidence (51%) in their progress in modernizing their technology infrastructure. Financial services are also quite confident in this area, with 46% saying they keep their technology up to date.
Taking into account disruption risk
A lot of companies, when considering the various risks they face, take into account the risk associated with emerging disruptions. Disruptive leaders here too, unsurprisingly, are the most likely to take disruption risks into account as a distinct factor in their overall risk governance.
Indeed, the Protiviti survey shows that disruptive businesses are more focused on the constraints that may inhibit innovation, like the regulatory environments that they are subject to. On the other hand, those companies that lag in disruption are far more likely to be concerned with new technology advancements, precisely because their competitors are better positioned to beat them in the race to adoption.
The bottom line is that market forces are constantly upending business models in a wide variety of industries. In order to keep up, companies need to maintain a certain degree of dynamism. That is why embracing disruption, as the survey shows, tends to give companies a pretty significant competitive edge.
“We have experienced more change in this decade than we have since the turn of the century, with more on the horizon,” said Joe Tarantino, President and CEO of Protiviti. “The key to managing the uncertainty of a disruptive global marketplace is being proactive in embracing change and seizing opportunities. It is all about having a mindset of anticipating, preparing, adapting and taking action decisively.”
