Disruption strategist Shawn Kanungo warns about the danger of being nostalgic in business

Are you nostalgic about the way you've always run your business?

If so, you may be at a high risk of being disrupted.

Last summer, I interviewed disruption strategist Shawn Kanungo.

Beyond being a "disruption strategist," Shawn is an entrepreneur and keynote speaker. He has been recognized globally for his work in the innovation space after 12 years working at Deloitte. He is a practitioner who has worked hand-to-hand with hundreds of organizations on their journey to digital transformation. Shawn has adopted the concepts of voice technology, behavioural economics, user-centered design, crowdsourcing and artificial intelligence to help create world-class client experiences.

"Many organizations and many individuals have run their operations for 30 or 40 or 50 years without changing anything," said Kanungo.

"If we look at every single innovation that has occurred over the last 10 years, the people who have won in their space, they really flipped the status quo."

For many, the topic of disruption often triggers a fear of jobs being lost; however, where others fear change, Shawn sees an opportunity.

"What we have seen throughout history is that most jobs evolve, and new jobs in new industries are created.

"Disruption to me is about opportunity...the ones who experiment quickly are the ones who will win in the future."

Shawn is also bullish on the future of voice technology. He explained both his three-year-old daughter, as well as his 70-year-old mother, will both call out and ask Google to get things done for them, despite the fact neither are very tech-savvy.

"Voice to me is the next paradigm shift... and we're still in the first innings."