BH: What is the biggest threat to big business?
JS: Procedures and a lack of autonomy. At Symes Group we are surprised by the cumbersome procedures in organisations. Organisations often need procedures to eliminate procedures.
Disruptive companies, big and small, are seducing entrepreneurial spirited workers away from traditional industries and organisations, because they can offer freedom, autonomy, excitement and meaning.
Corporate Australia is losing entrepreneurial individuals to the start-up world and this is dangerous.
It’s no secret, start ups are winning the technology race. The term disruption is so apt – look at Netflix’s impact on the video stores, Amazon on the book stores, Uber on taxis. And there’s more coming – insurance, banking, law. No one is safe.
At Symes Group we are huge fans of the start-up model and as a small company writing its own rules, we refer to ourselves as a start up too. I see two ways start-ups are a threat to big business.
Disruption as an operating model.
The start-up operating model is of disruption.
It’s one of turning challenges and problems into opportunities, questioning the status quo, cross pollinating industries, breaking tradition and rules. The start-up model asks: Why are we satisfied with five large companies running the internet? The model says "Let’s try something different, see if it works and lets not worry too much if it doesn’t work."
That’s what Hans-Juergen Schmidtke, Facebook's director of engineering did when he suggested to Mark Zuckerberg in 2014 that they create their own mode of transporting communication which would disrupt the US telecom market. After two years they single-handedly disrupted a US$350-billion industry. An industry that no doubt was trying to be innovative and to future-proof itself. But it didn’t see that coming.
The model of disruption is not orchestrated or formulated. It’s a result of passion, necessity, creativity and innovation.
Asking new questions, looking at problems differently, trying things out, moving fast, removing hierarchy, and removing rules and regulations are all essential to the disruption model. But at its heart, driving the disruption, is passion, focus, and goals.
This means entrepreneurs and teams of start-ups will work twice as hard with greater productivity, effort and gusto than any employee. Which is of course the greatest threat – human potential.
Poaching entrepreneurial talent.
Start-ups tend to have few rules, restictions and organisational procedures. Start-ups attract individuals who are rebelling against the establishment, rules and restrictions and old ways of doing things.
This is especially prevalent with women after maternity leave. Some women with extremely high powered and successful careers are hesitant to try and combine that career with their new role as a mother and start to ask what else can they do?
The annual Mumpreneur awards celebrate women who have answered that question. In 2016 the winners of the Mumpreneur of the year were two women in their 30s who left high paying, significant corporate jobs to start their own business. Their motivation? They didn’t feel the corporate world could accommodate their needs as parents.
Obviously this is a great loss to big business, many of these Mumpreneurs are capable of coming up with big profitable ideas and having the guts and energy to see it through. Big business is losing great people.
As organisations slowly wake up to the news that diversity is the key to innovation, and autonomy is the key to productivity, I predict we will see a huge overhaul of procedures in organisations, which will be of great benefit to individuals and to society as a whole.
Jessica can deliver a keynote at your organisation on the future of work
Book at [email protected]
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