In this blog I expect we will come up with some guidelines for understanding the plethora of digital disruptions we are facing and will face, as well as for managing them to advantage in our respective businesses. When we do, let’s highlight the former in bold at the latter in italics. I’ll start us off.

You can’t stop disruptive technologies. About five years ago, the price of powerful hardware dropped so precipitously, and a myriad of software productivity tools became so widely available through consumer channels that, while employers struggled to evaluate and integrate it all, employees quickly outfitted themselves with state-of-the-art home offices and leading edge communications gear. These very tech-savvy employees, many of whom never knew a world without the Internet or cell phones, were not content to leave their gadgets at home, and brought them into the corporation, policies prohibiting them notwithstanding. These technologies – instant messaging, Internet e-mail, cell phones, PDAs, flash drives, GPS, portable hubs and MP3 players,* to name a few early ones** – were helping employees get more work done faster, and get it done anywhere, anytime. If the corporation was withholding support for all this unauthorized equipment, so be it. The employees could and did support it themselves. What’s a corporation to do?

One of our clients decided to decouple tried-and-true-but-slower-moving IT from early-adopter employee purchasing by giving employees a budget to buy their own equipment, with the provisions that a) they could not call the help desk for support; b) anything that disrupted the corporate network would be shut down, and c) employees were required to sign an agreement saying that to the best of their ability they would use the technology securely and responsibly. This arrangement, they say, has been working well. Lesson learned: Plan to give up some control, and trust your employees to move your company forward in the digital age – though stay involved to make sure the infrastructure you do provide is not compromised.

Again, expect some chaos as you move from business model A to business model B. For example, commenting on the illegal use of a laptop in Notre Dame’s coaching box, the New York Times reported, “…the N.C.A.A. appears more reluctant than professional sport leagues – and even some high schools – to welcome the latest available technology.” The article observed, “In many aspects, football keeps technology at arm’s length, particularly at a time when it might be most useful – on game day.” You can bet this will change. You can’t stop the technology, so be creative in figuring out the best way to harness it.
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*Note the blurring distinction between entertainment equipment and productivity tools.  MP3 players, first used to listen to music, were quickly adopted to replay corporate briefings and seminars.

**See the Digital Disruptions report for the latest innovations you can expect to see soon.