Scientists believe they began doing it eons ago, when South America and Africa were locked together. Back then, only a river might have separated the continents, and the turtles could easily swim back and forth between banks.<\/P><\/p>\n
As the continents began drifting apart, the river widened by about an inch per year. The distance was imperceptible to the turtles. So, they kept going to the same spot at the far bank of the river, each generation swimming a tiny bit farther than the last.<\/P><\/p>\n
Fast forward a hundred million years, and the river had become an ocean. The turtles never noticed.<\/P>
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That theory is almost more amazing to me than the journey of the leatherbacks themselves. It got me wondering: would the turtles have decided not to make the swim if the change was more dramatic? How big would that change need to be? A meter? 10 meters? A kilometer?<\/P><\/p>\n
At some distance, presumably, the change between one year and the next would\u2019ve been so wide that\u2014even as hard-wired as they were to reach the other side of that ancient river\u2014they might\u2019ve paused and considered another way.<\/P><\/p>\n
Disruptive innovation and technology<\/H3>
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I realized this story applies to our work as innovators. I wonder how many companies are out there today, facing the same circumstances with disruptive innovation or disruptive technology.<\/P><\/p>\n
Business is moving faster than the continents that drifted apart. We\u2019ve known for decades that the pace of change is rapidly increasing<\/A>. Still, companies seem to get caught flat-footed by change\u2014and they continue approaching problems the same way\u2026all the way to extinction. Think about Kodak in the camera business, or bookstores around the world.<\/P><\/p>\n Even major automakers are starting to feel the creeping dangers of change. Many automakers, like GM with its Lyft business<\/A>, are starting to do something about it. But just as many aren\u2019t doing enough.<\/P><\/p>\n It\u2019s not that these companies are standing still: they\u2019re making small, incremental changes to adapt. They\u2019re probably doing all of their design with CAD tools and leveraging simulation and manufacturing software, and they have some system to manage all their product data.<\/P><\/p>\n I\u2019m sure leatherbacks evolved in small ways too\u2014they got bigger and stronger, and they changed anatomically to swim farther. But they never truly changed their behavior. They never disrupted their routine. How many companies are in this same boat? <\/P><\/p>\n In the last year or so, we\u2019ve seen more and more companies trying to break out of this mold, consciously working to change their innovation culture and to learn from that disruptive technology. And it\u2019s all because of digitalization.<\/P><\/p>\n Digitalization is changing everything, and in every industry. Companies are getting a sense of urgency to change. They know, they either digitalize their businesses, or\u2014like the leatherback\u2014it will be harder and harder to make the disruptive innovation journey. Embracing disruptive innovation<\/H3>
\n![\"Disruptive](\"http:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2019\/09\/Disruptive-Innovation_2-1.jpeg\" "\\"Disruptive")
If companies want to survive the market upheaval digitalization is causing, they must begin embracing disruptive innovation.<\/span><\/span><\/P>
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