In 2017, 94% of the 5-trillion dollars China did in retail payments, was not handled by banks, or Visa, or Mastercard. We talk about retail as being “in the dark ages” in so many ways, but this disruption is one example of what’s to come in the New Year.
Jay Samit is a dynamic entrepreneur, widely recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on disruption and innovation. He launches billion dollar businesses, transforms entire industries, revamps government institutions, and for over three decades continues to be at the forefront of global trends. I was thrilled to sit down with him and talk about market disruption in 2018, and it was not what I expected, but it’s exactly what we all need to hear.
Let’s Go Back to China
This one example of market disruption shows us that the change is happening so rapidly in the marketplace, so that; 1) We don’t always realize it, and 2) Big businesses are having a hard time keeping up. When innovation is happening and the need isn’t being matched or met, large gaps are created in the marketplace and those large gaps equal new opportunities.
2018 Isn’t About Market Disruption, At Least Not Completely
We see that the disruptive ideas are already happening. What needs disruption is you. In Jay’s book Disrupt You, he talks about self-limiting beliefs and why, more than anything else, the market needs you to disrupt yourself before you set your eyes on anything else. What happens, he explains, is that well-intentioned people, over the course of your life, to protect you or to make sure you succeed, tell you to be reasonable. They take away your dreams and they don’t even realize it. So by the time you’re an adult, these self-limiting beliefs have embedded themselves in most aspects of your life, and if you are innovating, or an entrepreneur (or hopefully both!), these beliefs could be holding you back.
So rather than making resolutions in the New Year, it might be time for you to forget the habits, and look inward.
“The purpose of life is to have a life of purpose.” – Jay Samit
Welcome to the Era of Endless Innovation
AR, AI, VR, 3D; each innovation holds exponential potential for growth, and not in one market, but in all markets. The rapid growth technology is there, the products are there, the applications are there, everything is available, and this is only the beginning.
You Are the Missing Disruption!
With the endless applications, and the ability to fulfill those applications with less time and labor than ever before, the short supply is in visionaries. Every marketplace, every sector, every industry needs idea makers, innovators, and designers to fill the new gaps, and to spot the new application possibilities. This is why Jay believes that the new currency in 2018 is confidence because true visionaries have the confidence and self-belief to see their ideas through to application.
How To Begin the Disruption Process
If you want to begin the year disrupting you, Jay says there is one thing you can do that will give you more deal flow than any VC in Silicon Valley. Every day you have to write down 3 problems you’ve experienced that day, and you have to do this for 30-days.
On the first day, this task might seem easy, but on day 15 or day 20 is when you are going to really have to work to identify your daily 3 problems and those problems are showing you gaps in need of innovation.
Why problems?
Because Disruptive Technology, like 3D printing, isn’t about “look what I can build”, it’s about “look what problem I can solve”. It isn’t about building on Mars… it’s about building houses in areas hit with extreme weather. Or for prosthetics, organs, and pharmaceuticals. AR and VR are seeing big booms in the areas of disruption that are changing people’s lives.
Market disruption, in 2018, might be the ultimate goal, but the vehicles for change should be the focus, and that vehicle for change is YOU. When you can master your personal disruption transformation, you will welcome a year of exciting endeavors and purpose.
This post was originally published in Inc. on January 9th, 2018.