Think disruption, be disruption, business expert tells planners

Successful businesses can't afford to play it safe these days. Financial advisers, like other entrepreneurs, need to make "bold moves" even when things are going well, business consultant Luke Williams told advisers at the Financial Planning Association's Business Solutions 2013 conference in Chicago today. American businesses rise and fall faster than ever today in every industry, and it's nearly impossible to predict the way things are going to go, he said. "To thrive in this turbulence, you must lead and be the disruptive change," said Mr. Williams, who is also a professor of innovation at New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business. Companies that make small, incremental changes eventually will "reach the end of that path," and by then, all the firm's most profitable customers will have forsaken them for another offering "that no one saw coming," he said. In other words, it's time to think beyond best practices. "It all starts with coming up with a bold, provocative question that you've never asked before," Mr. Williams said. "Then define an opportunity around it that delivers value." Consider how ZipCar Inc. challenged the traditional notion of car rentals, or how RedBull GmbH is able to market a beverage and avoid any discussion of the way it tastes, he said. He recommends shaping new ideas into solutions through experimentation and testing. “Look for situations where customers have been overlooked and underserved,” said Mr. Williams, who wrote “Disrupt: Think the Unthinkable to Spark Transformation in Your Business” (FT Press, 2010). New, young planners would be a great source for new ideas about the industry, he said. Another method for coming up with new solutions or ideas is to imagine that you are a competitor. "How would you disrupt your business and steal the customers?" he asked.