Are You Disrupting?  You Should Be.

Are You Disrupting?  You Should Be.

When I was 30, if you had called me a disrupter, I’d have been insulted. I might have even sulked. Why? Because, back then, I wanted to be liked, to be accepted, and to just fit in. But now, at um….42 years old, I’d consider being called a disrupter a compliment. I’d be happy. It would be a comment on my personal business savvy and success. After all, that’s what I’m about. I want to disrupt the in-person meeting space, the snooze fest of board meetings, wasted time at retreats, and mindless virtual meetings.

My goal is to flip meetings upside down and only keep the parts that are valuable and have a purpose. I’m sick of meetings that are just about receiving information that never gets implemented. I want to invest my time – and yours – in helping groups to provide input toward decision-making and moving to implementation responsibility. I hope that meetings facilitated by ISI Consulting are different and completely unlike the norm. Yes, we’re about disrupting unproductive in-person and virtual meetings…and proud of it.

What are you disrupting?  What is your organization pumped up to turn around? What makes you angry? What makes you downright giddy? What is it? Customer experience guru, S. Jeffes, notes that “Innovation is the unrelenting drive to break the status quo and develop anew where few have dared to go.” That sounds a LOT like positive disruption to me.

If I could sit with three women this year, it would be Cynt Marshall (former equity disrupter of AT&T and now CEO of the Dallas Mavericks), Dolly Parton (singer, songwriter, and philanthropy forerunner, always doing it HER way) and Sara Blakley (undergarment disrupter and CEO of Spanx…who makes us all look better). These women saw needs and didn’t wait for someone else to tell them how to do it. They moved forward and laser-focused on the issues they saw and knew they could fix. They were relentless in iterative learning and experimentation. Not everyone liked the disruptions that were taking place at the Dallas Mavs, in Nashville, or at Spanx headquarters. These women didn’t care, because they recognized that anyone pushing against the status quo is going to experience pressure. It’s OK and necessary. 

I’d like you to take a little time in the next week and do yourself a favor. Think about your position and your business or industry. Are you disrupting anything? If not, where and how could you become a disruptor? How can you push yourself and your organization forward? Then write out the following sentences, fill in the blanks, and put that piece of paper where you’ll see it every day. Commit to use it as your encouragement to be a disruptor. I know you’ll be surprised at the results.

We are disrupting the ______________ industry. We strongly believe _______________ and as a result we commit to doing/providing _____________ to our customers/patients/participants.

Stay sharp,

Holly Hayes, President & Founder
ISI Consulting