Evolutionary or Revolutionary

Is it better to evolve or revolutionize?  Is it better to enhance or disrupt the status quo?  Which path is best for short term gains and which provides the best long-term strategy?  Which one of these is easier to sell and which one generates the most profit?  These are the questions that entrepreneurs have been asking themselves for a very long time.  The answers are not always very clear.  Keep reading below to hear our story and gain some exposure to what we are living through now.

For everyone who thinks disruption is the way to go, let me first say I agree with you.  For everyone who thinks evolution is the way to go, let me first say I agree with you too.  I know that sounds a little wishy-washy but let me explain.


When Progentus first started we were really just evolving the technical sales process from a "speeds and feeds" discussion to a business discussion.  This is, and I think most people in the industry would agree, a necessary evolution.  Customer's technical acumen has grown by leaps and bounds in the last decade and this has caused much more scrutiny on the technical direction and spend within our industry.  To counteract the effect of their sophistication we have been evolving to become more business savvy.  Call it "trusted adviser" or "business partner" or whatever other term we have been using since Y2K it all means we "get" your business.


Our consulting business was and still is great.  We have a lot of customers who rely on us to help them articulate the value of their most complex or biggest solutions to their largest customers.  That is what I mean when I say evolution is the way to go.  Evolution has been great for our short term viability, our customers value us for it and it has and continues to help them evolve.


On the flip side, evolution is not our long-term strategy.  Everyone evolves or ceases to exist.  What was once considered black-magic, smoke and mirrors, is today considered commodity.  The same will be true of our evolved business.  Speaking the language of the CFO or Board of Directors will be the table stakes.  If you can't do it, your customers will have to find someone who can.  Thus it is continue to evolve or die.


So we set out to find solutions that no one is working on yet.  We came up with a couple that are disruptive technologies in our industry.  The problem with disruption is it requires thinking about things a new way and with an open mind.  Revolutionary thinkers have immediately seen the value in what we have done.  This however, does not mean it is obvious to everyone. Of all the demonstrations we have been through, one third of the people we meet stare in disbelief.  While this is exciting for us to see that we are showing off something new and cool, it also means the sales cycle is much longer.  My gut feel says people need a chance to wrap their head around what just happened.


To quote "K" (Tommy Lee Jones) from Men In Black:
"Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow. "


Disruptive technology makes you question all the things you took for granted.  It takes time to determine the impact it can make.  It takes thought to unlearn what you already know.  For this very reason disruptive technology takes time to catch on.  For early adopters, they reap the rewards sooner rather than later.  For mainstream adoption, disruptive technology becomes a path to differentiation.  For the people who wait, even disruptive technology becomes a commodity, then it is commonplace and everyone expects it.  When we start approaching the commodity stage the whole cycle starts again with the next disruptive technology.


In the end, there have been many potential disruptive technologies that have come and gone without the kinds of impact the inventors were expecting.  There have been many slight enhancements that have made companies billions of dollars and there have been countless products that fall somewhere in between.  In the end a disruptive technology needs time to catch on and that takes money.  Some see funding as way of getting there, some see boot strapping as a way and some see no way so they never try.  Whatever your preferred path just remember to allot youself the time it takes to help your customers evolve their thinking to a point that helps them wrap their head around your disruptive technology.