“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”

There is some debate over whether it was Charles Darwin who said it or not, but the sentiment still stands.

I had another reminder of this literally right in front of my eyes when I visited the optometrist for my regular (ok, once every two year) checkup yesterday.

Technological improvements have been crucial for the health industry, and every single one of us benefits.

Once upon a time my optometrist would have sat a ridiculous frame on my nose, juggling countless combinations of lenses until they got the right one to match my prescription.

Nowadays they’ve got all these fancy and no doubt expensive (but still funny-looking) machines to do the hard work. With the information now on hand, they can make up my new pair of glasses and stock the contact lenses which match my exact prescription.

What they don’t have enough of, though, is this:

A direct line into my pocket, getting my attention when the time is right. And their timing couldn’t have been better – this email was received literally within an hour of me ripping the top off the last box of contacts in my current stash.

They can deliver what I need, when I need it, direct to my door. And they can do it 30% cheaper than the guy who has a wall of degrees and decades of experience.

Deep customers insights are everything.

The competitive advantage of every big business is not their balance sheet and the cash flow the company throws off each year. It is not that old cliche “our people are our most important asset”.

The one big thing that established business have, and their potential competitors don’t, is deep customer insights directly from those for whom they are already solving a valuable problem.

Technology, particularly the rise of all things digital, is not the disruptor. It is merely the enabler.

It is not so much businesses that get disrupted, it is business models.

That is why we need new frameworks, tools and metrics, to enable our current business model to evolve rapidly, and new business models to be created quickly.

That is why the lean method is getting traction in startups and big companies alike.

POST SCRIPT: A little reminder driving past my local Blockbuster store yesterday… Remember when Blockbuster’s then-CEO said this?

“Neither RedBox nor Netflix are even on the radar screen in terms of competition. It’s more Wal-Mart and Apple.”

Apparently not…

Image credits: Chris Martino and Richard Smith