Innovation and emerging technology: Be disruptive

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/innovation-technology-be-disruptive

Introduction

**Course Review: Innovation and Emerging Technology: Be Disruptive** In the era of rapid technological advancement, the term "disruption" has become a cornerstone of business strategy. Understanding how to harness disruptive innovation is crucial for organizations aiming to maintain a competitive edge in today’s fast-paced market. "Innovation and Emerging Technology: Be Disruptive," offered on Coursera, is a comprehensive course that delves into the strategies and methodologies necessary for implementing disruptive thinking within an organization. ### Course Overview This course is meticulously designed to provide learners with the tools and frameworks needed to navigate the complexities of disruption in the business landscape. It goes beyond the buzzword and equips you with actionable insights on how disruptive changes can be identified, cultivated, and utilized for organizational growth and sustainability. ### Syllabus Breakdown **Week 1: Change and Disruptive Innovation** The course kicks off by addressing seminal questions regarding business failure and the macro-environmental factors influencing change. You'll explore the innovator's dilemma and employ PESTLE analysis to assess external influences on your organization. This foundational week sets the stage for understanding the essence of disruptive innovation. **Week 2: Enablers, Not Drivers** Diving deeper, this week focuses on emerging technologies like Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT). These technologies are dissected to understand their current application and potential for disruption. Stay updated with technological trends while identifying key innovations that could impact your organization. **Week 3: Business Models** Understanding the business model is critical for any organization looking to innovate. You will analyze elements like value proposition, resources, and processes, and use the 4I's framework to innovate and refine your business model. This insight into business model patterns is invaluable for those aiming to foster innovation. **Week 4: Disruption and Digital Platforms** Introducing the concept of platforms, this week covers their unique characteristics and how they differ from traditional business models. You’ll learn about the best practices for creating successful platforms and when it is beneficial for your organization to venture into this territory. **Week 5: Design Thinking** With a focus on human-centered design, this week explores how design thinking can aid in creative problem-solving. You will engage with empathy mapping, brainstorming, and prototyping, enhancing your capability to innovate in a way that resonates deeply with users. **Week 6: Responses to Disruptive Innovation** Finally, the course wraps up with frameworks that guide you in identifying innovation opportunities and protecting your organization from disruption. The faultline framework will help you recognize gaps in customer needs, performance metrics, and business models—ensuring a holistic view of innovation readiness. ### Recommendation I highly recommend "Innovation and Emerging Technology: Be Disruptive" for professionals, entrepreneurs, and innovators looking to deepen their understanding of disruptions in business. Whether you're in a startup or an established organization, the insights gained from this course are incredibly applicable. The course is structured to facilitate not just theoretical understanding but also practical application through tools and frameworks that can be immediately implemented. Additionally, the self-paced format allows you to engage with the material at your convenience, making it ideal for busy professionals. ### Conclusion In conclusion, if you want to become a change-maker in your organization, this course is an essential step on your journey. With its well-rounded syllabus, engaging content, and focus on real-world applications, "Innovation and Emerging Technology: Be Disruptive" is not just a learning experience; it's a catalyst for ongoing innovation and success. Whether you're looking to adapt to new technologies or redefine your business approach, this course will equip you with the skills to be truly disruptive. Enroll now and embrace the challenge of innovation!

Syllabus

Change and disruptive innovation

This week, you will explore two main questions: why do great companies fail; and what are some macro-environmental factors that cause change within the organisation?. You will investigate the innovator’s dilemma and try to find out if adoption of technologies is speeding up (or not). You will use tools to help you consider macro-economic factors and the impact that these would have on your organisation (PESTLE analysis). Additionally, you will apply tools that will help you determine if your next technology (or one from your competitor) is likely to be disruptive. Welcome to be disruptive!

In week 2 you will get ‘techie’ by exploring a number of technologies that are often seen as potentially ‘disruptive’. Additionally, you will discuss how these technologies are currently used by organisations globally. More importantly, you will explore ways to stay up-to-date with technological advances. You will also explore technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT).

This week you will focus on viability and specifically look at business models. You will begin by looking at the four (4) main elements of a business model: value proposition, resources, processes, and the profit formula. You will look at the business model journey, and how organisations move from creating a business model, through sustaining innovation, up to efficiency. You will explore the importance of developing new business models with a framework (the 4I's framework) to help you come up with these new business models. Finally, you will look at business model patterns, as recombining, adapting, and refining business model patterns is an efficient way to do business model innovation.

This week you will learn about platforms, what they are, how they’re different from other business models, the different types of platforms, and how to create successful platforms. You will also learn how to decide if you should create your own platform.

This week, you will take a more in-depth look at viability, desirability, and feasibility through the human-centred approach to creative problem solving – design thinking. You will explore the different stages of design thinking, with close attention paid to empathy maps, brainstorming and prototyping – a taster to inspire you to learn more about this method.

Now that you have a good foundation for ‘being disruptive’, you will now explore where to innovate next through a framework that looks for gaps that need to be filled. The faultline framework contains five areas to be considered when looking for these gaps: customer needs, performance metrics, business model, talent, and industry position. You will also investigate how to protect your organisation from disruption and consider different views on what is at the heart of disruption.