As a result, New Zealand will also have to deal with outbreaks from time to time for the foreseeable future, and will have to maintain its readiness with timely new vaccinations and antiviral medicines as they become available.” If that doesn’t give food-for-thought for the future, then it should! Alternatively, we could heed the words of Lisa O’Neill, CEO of Thought Leaders Business School: “The world is returning to a new abnormal. We have survived 100% of the hard stuff that has happened. That is a wonderful statistic that shows we have a very good chance of surviving anything else hard that comes our way. “Life will not go back to 'normal' - it will be different. The human race has been through disruption before. It will go through disruption again. We will be fine. We will create new solutions.” Lisa is a very good example of the thinking that we need right now. We know that we are facing challenges, and we know that we need new approaches to everyday problems. So, what can we actually do about it? Well, we know that the last two years have seen an increase in online services, home deliveries, and a return to localism. An increasing amount of work is being conducted at home, and people are less inclined to travel longer distances. Some industries have retrenched, while others have blossomed. These are all signs not just of change, but also opportunity … and on a massive scale! All of which brings us to the father of disruption, Clayton Christensen. Christensen popularised the idea of disruptive innovation in the late 1990s, with his seminal work ‘The Innovator's Dilemma’. He differentiated between sustaining innovations (which support, but do not significantly affect, existing industries), and disruptive innovations (which create new markets, and which ultimately overtake existing industry models). Simply being new is not sufficient in itself to meet Christensen’s definition of innovative disruption, unless the innovation creates widespread and significant change. There is more than a touch of Joseph Schumpeter’s creatordestroyer concept, wrapped up in Christensen’s work. However, while Schumpeter was describing entrepreneurs, Christensen was firmly focussed on innovation as a key part of the process making technological disruption happen. Strictly-speaking, a truly disruptive innovation in the early childhood education sector would be a significant game-changer, possibly re-defining what we expect from the industry. However, there are intermediate innovations which might augment, enhance, and sustain the performance of ECE centres, without fundamentally changing the way that they are organised. A good example of this, is the increasing use of technology in teaching, and the ability of ECE centres to reach into the home. All of this creates opportunities for ECE centres to increase their relevance and range, not just among existing users but also among non-users (i.e. markets which don’t currently use ECE services, but which could do so if you offered something new to them). Christensen was very focused on technology, cost, and value, but you may be able to find other disruptive factors which you can exploit. About the author Phil Sales is specialist business coach, interested in 'cool stuff' in the business development sector. For more about Phil, see https://iact15.wixsite.com/iactltd/who-we-are One of the most interesting lessons arising out of disruption research is that businesses which cling to narrow, existing models also tend to be the ones who are most vulnerable to change. It is almost like an industrial version of evolutionary over-specialisation, where the model works extremely well provided that the environment remains unchanged! Kodak’s miscalculation with digital photography, and Nokia’s difficulties in transitioning to smartphone technology, are sometimes touted as the result of the disruptive effects of massive technological change. The message in both cases is quite clear: Remain nimble, curious, and unafraid of change. Lead the industry, don’t follow. Don’t just predict the future, BE THE FUTURE! In any industry, the existing players have an initial head start over the rest. The trick isn’t to BE ahead. The real trick is to STAY ahead. So, what can you do to successfully stay ahead in your industry, in 2022? Preferred supplier to the Early Childhood Council Since we started specialising in accounting for ECEs in 2013, more than 350 centres have appointed us as their accounting provider. They’re saving time and money on audits and reviews, and finding it easier to meet IRD and MOE requirements. Importantly, Rubiix clients are finding it easier to deal with their banking requirements due to our expertise and strong relationships with all the major banks. With our help, they’ve also learned how to use Xero online accounting. “Switching to Rubiix has been like finding a savvy CFO or strategic business partner.” Dr Darius Singh, co-founder Chrysalis Group of ECE Centres Find out more about our service for ECEs. Call Mark Salmon at Rubiix Accountants today on (09) 302 2268 or email msalmon@rubiix.co.nz The only accounting rm endorsed by the Early Childhood Council, Rubiix Accountants is NZ’s specialist accounting rm for ECEs. Our knowledge of what makes a best-practice early childhood centre, from a nancial point of view, is unsurpassed. 350+ ECEs TRUST US WITH THEIR ACCOUNTING December 2021 { 35 }
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