Representative End User Clients
Representative Automation Clients
Representative Software Clients
After a couple of busy days at the ARC Industry Forum in Orlando, the attendees were more than happy to relax and enjoy the food, drink, and entertainment at an evening at SeaWorld. I walked with one of my clients to the Sea Lion show, and followed him down to the front. We sat squarely in the middle of the clearly-labeled "Splash Zone" seats. The attendants came over a couple times to warn us. "Are you sure you want to sit there? It's cold tonight. You WILL get wet!"
Being engineers at heart, we internally sized up the situation. We looked at the water and how high the tank walls were. We imagined how big the sea lions would be, and considered the height of the structures from which they would enter the water. It was hard to see how they could possibly splash us where we were seated. Physics was on our side. The only other person in the splash zone - on the other side - was a child, who was dressed head to toe in rain gear and plastic, with a parent watching from a safe distance. Clearly she expected to get wet, and was counting on it. It was a bit disquieting.
While we waited for the show to begin, I thought back to some of the sessions we had seen, sessions featuring topics like Disruption, Innovation, and Transformation. Many of the attendees were energized and enthusiastic, but some seemed dismissive. How could they not see the dramatic changes that are bearing down upon us?
As the show got underway, we began to feel more comfortable in our decision. The sea lions weren't as big as we imagined. Their splashes were quite tame. We would be safe.
Suddenly, without warning (and exactly as designed), water gushed from a nozzle at the top of the structure and sprayed the splash zone seats! Luckily for us, it only drenched the other half of the Splash zone, and we quickly moved to higher ground to enjoy the rest of the show.
The mistake we made was a classic when it comes to disruptive change: the linear thinking mistake. We had considered the boundaries we knew about, and extrapolated from our experience. We even chose to ignore those who had more information, and who were obviously 'experts.' They knew we would get wet, and they urgently warned us it was coming. It made us think, but in the end we relied on our experience and our linear rational mind - and stayed put.
We were lucky and didn't get wet. Companies who make the linear thinking mistake today, in the face of all the mounting evidence that significant change is coming and a planned Digital Transformation could be an appropriate response, may be lucky enough to eventually notice something in time to react. But if the disruption changes the game quickly and decisively - as disruptions are wont to do - the results could be catastrophic.
Being engineers at heart, we internally sized up the situation. We looked at the water and how high the tank walls were. We imagined how big the sea lions would be, and considered the height of the structures from which they would enter the water. It was hard to see how they could possibly splash us where we were seated. Physics was on our side. The only other person in the splash zone - on the other side - was a child, who was dressed head to toe in rain gear and plastic, with a parent watching from a safe distance. Clearly she expected to get wet, and was counting on it. It was a bit disquieting.
While we waited for the show to begin, I thought back to some of the sessions we had seen, sessions featuring topics like Disruption, Innovation, and Transformation. Many of the attendees were energized and enthusiastic, but some seemed dismissive. How could they not see the dramatic changes that are bearing down upon us?
As the show got underway, we began to feel more comfortable in our decision. The sea lions weren't as big as we imagined. Their splashes were quite tame. We would be safe.
Suddenly, without warning (and exactly as designed), water gushed from a nozzle at the top of the structure and sprayed the splash zone seats! Luckily for us, it only drenched the other half of the Splash zone, and we quickly moved to higher ground to enjoy the rest of the show.
The mistake we made was a classic when it comes to disruptive change: the linear thinking mistake. We had considered the boundaries we knew about, and extrapolated from our experience. We even chose to ignore those who had more information, and who were obviously 'experts.' They knew we would get wet, and they urgently warned us it was coming. It made us think, but in the end we relied on our experience and our linear rational mind - and stayed put.
We were lucky and didn't get wet. Companies who make the linear thinking mistake today, in the face of all the mounting evidence that significant change is coming and a planned Digital Transformation could be an appropriate response, may be lucky enough to eventually notice something in time to react. But if the disruption changes the game quickly and decisively - as disruptions are wont to do - the results could be catastrophic.