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Jakarta Post

'Disruption' talks fast paced changes

Marketing and entrepreneurship expert Rhenald Kasali’s new book, Disruption, may be something that sets real entrepreneurs and wannabes apart.

Hans David Tampubolon (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Mon, February 27, 2017

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'Disruption' talks fast paced changes Disruption — a new book by marketing and entrepreneurial expert Rhenald Kasali (Shutterstock/File)

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nlike his previous books, which mostly revolve around the abstract concept of an entrepreneurial mindset and motivation, Disruption — a new book by marketing and entrepreneurial expert Rhenald Kasali — takes a different twist.

The book, the subtitle of which reads “Facing Invisible Foes in Uber Civilization”, talks about something that is very real and is happening around us yet at the same time is completely out of sight.

In the book, the author basically presents a brief history of how the rapid transformation and development of the digital world, particularly the internet, force entrepreneurs and business leaders to have the ability of adapting with rapid changes.

Rhenald, who is also a professor at the University of Indonesia’s School of Economics and Business, has always been an advocate of adaptation and change.

In Rhenald’s mind, humans function as transformers of the world, and without change, the world and civilization will perish.

When the monetary crisis hit Indonesia in 1997, Rhenald advocated a shift to an entrepreneurial mindset for Indonesians who were left jobless. For him, becoming entrepreneurs during a time of crisis was not only advisable but it was the best way to survive.

Rhenald’s advocacy and motivational talks about entrepreneurship brought forth a new breed of aspiring entrepreneurs during the crisis.

In West Java capital Bandung, for example, hundreds of young laid-off workers, who were motivated by Rhenald’s advocacy, took daring risks by opening new small businesses, which in a couple of years later turned into franchises with nationwide branches.

Motivation and desperation were the main fuels for aspiring entrepreneurs and new businesses at that time. However, today, another major change has arrived and in Disruption, Rhenald says this situation requires more than just motivation.

“Nothing will change before you face change itself. Motivation alone is not enough,” Rhenald said.

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A revolution, he explains in the book, is now shaking the very foundations of large corporations and brands — something completely unthinkable in the past.

Big corporations and brands have been “disrupted” with the emergence of new players that are, though small in size and little known, digitally savvy in taking advantage of the market to get their products and services to customers.

For example, Blue Bird, the largest taxi company in Indonesia, has been facing major difficulties in competing in the market against the “invisible taxis” like Uber.

Before Uber shook the taxi industry in Indonesia, it had left a merciless market coup of the industry in other countries, he added.

This is very ironic because Uber, now practically the largest taxi company in the world, does not own a single car for its taxi armada.

He pointed out the fact that why Uber made the big time was its concept to digitalize the concept of ordering taxis through a mobile application and utilize the spirit of ride sharing.

On the other hand, conventional taxi companies took too long to respond or to adapt with the way Uber utilizes the digital world for its advantage.

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“A new kind of civilization now demands the human race to change its mindset to a disruptive mindset […]. This new civilization, which is ruled by Moore’s Law, shifts at an exponential pace against individuals who still hold a linear manner of thinking,” Rhenald said.

He was referring to the law named after Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, who observed back in 1965 that transistors were shrinking so fast that every year, twice as many could fit into a chip. In 1975 the pace was adjusted to doubling every two years. His prediction was kept alive by the chip industry, with Intel leading the way.

Rhenald said excellence of service shifts as fast as the wind blew due to rapid developments in the digital world — a shift that is not only killing the established, old mindset and operation, but is also catching the human race and civilization by surprise.

He told the story on how he was completely amazed by an explanation from a tech-officer at Go-Jek, a digital motorcycle taxi application that provides numerous services from rides to grocery shopping and even house cleaning.

“Companies like Go-Jek knows exactly what you think and what you want to do in real time […] Digital technology allows Go-Jek to monitor its users’ interactions and discussions in the internet sphere within less than a two-second split before it follows up with available services,” Rhenald said.

By monitoring interactions in real time, he said the tech officer could easily send a broadcast to Go-Jek drivers to go to Sudirman, for example, at the very exact time a potential customer wants a ride because its technology is capable to monitor the conversations and status updates of people in that area.

“So, for example, if you post a Facebook update that you want to go home and are thinking about getting a Go-Jek ride, as soon as you walk out of your office, a number of GoJek drivers are ready to offer you their service,” he said.

Facing the real time services and market monitoring, Rhenald said big corporates and big brands had to adapt as soon as possible with the rapid change — or they would be washed away by the disruption made possible by digital technology.

“Large companies are now competing against competitors that go straight to the audiences’ faces through their mobile phones. These competitors are invisible but they are everywhere,” he said.

“It is impossible for us to step into the business world’s future, which is a completely different ball game, by using irrelevant methods and habits.”

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