Small change: disruption is overrated

For the last couple of decades, the instruction to ‘move fast and break things’ has been a common maxim in business. It is driven by a belief that, for progress to be possible, the status quo is broken and must be disrupted. And if that causes a bit of collateral damage, is it not a price worth paying?

But what ‘things’ should you be breaking? Your balance sheet? Your product portfolio? Your customer relationships? Your people? Which of these does it feel okay to break to you?

Here’s a radical proposition: move fast and don’t break things. How do you do that? One, accept that ‘fast’ means slower than otherwise might be possible if you were being reckless, but still quicker than a lot of people will like.

Two, stop talking about ‘things’ and instead refocus on people — specifically, doing change with them not to them. Short term, this will feel less efficient than the bulldozer of disruption. But in the months and years ahead, you will spend far less time cleaning up the rubble.

Something to consider: what’s the fastest we can move while risking the least collateral damage?

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