I don’t remember who exactly coined these terms, but the concepts are HUGE! Everyone roots for the person that has created the completely amazing product that transforms everyone’s life, but who really wants to buy the product? I would assume, at first, that there will be very few people signing on the dotted line. This isn’t how humans prefer to operate.
You see them all the time. Press releases disguised as a news article. These articles are praising the virtues of a company’s new product and how it will change the world! Human beings love to latch onto and root for these disruptive underdogs. We hope that they can knock the incumbent off of their pedestal and in some dreamy fantasy-land, it can happen. However, in reality, it’s quite rare.
When looking back through history, there have been some pretty amazing discontinuous innovations. One example was the introduction of digital cameras. But, how many years did it take till these things became main stream?
Consumers don’t want a brand new product. What humans really want is an improvement on an existing product, a continuous innovation. If you are determined to make your disruptive product successful, then be prepared. It is going to take a while. You might be right. Your product is the best thing ever. Yes, it will address someone’s pain. But, humans have to be ready for it.
–Don’t Stop
Brain On 