By JP Snow, Principal & Founder at Customer Catalytics, March 12, 2025
Of the 20+ companies I’ve worked with in the past year, more than half are right now experiencing some form of disruption to their business model. If the volatility in US national policy is the largest disruptor, it’s not the only one. The challenges I’ve heard in recent weeks include key leader departures, product lines being supplanted by AI and team morale hampered by organizational consolidation.
Change means opportunity. In the customer ecosystem, changes create new needs – needs that can be uncovered, and once uncovered are probably not being covered by anyone else… yet. When demand for consumer goods is shrinking, it means consumers are also re-evaluating which goods help them economize. When employers are risk averse about taking on new staff, it means they’ll also seek more fractional and contract roles to get their critical work done.
Here are three strategies you can use today to prompt fresh thinking about growth during times of change.
Apply Adaptive Leadership
Adaptive leadership separates technical problems (solvable with existing knowledge) from adaptive challenges that require new learning and perspectives. Disruption is by definition a non-technical problem. Find some online sources about Adaptive Leadership to prompt fresh thinking. One concept you’ll encounter is the need to “get on the balcony,” meaning zoom out to a big picture perspective.
Embrace a Beautiful Constraint
This approach, developed by Adam Morgan and Mark Barden in their book “A Beautiful Constraint,” transforms limitations into catalysts for breakthrough innovation rather than barriers to progress. Their central insight is that constraints force us to challenge grooved thinking and find different paths to success. Use relevant extremes to force strategic thinking toward new possibilities. What if your non-profit couldn’t directly ask individuals for donations? What if your hotel guests started booking solely through AGI agents?
Use your favorite generative AI tool
Claude and ChatGPT are powerful and creative idea generators, if you prompt them right. Here’s a templated prompt you can customize for your disruption-driven challenge:
Customer demand in [SPECIFIC INDUSTRY/MARKET] is being disrupted by [SPECIFIC TECHNOLOGY/TREND/FORCE]. What new customer needs should I anticipate to maximize value, and how can my organization turn this disruption into an advantage?
Some industry-specific ideas I generated via this prompt:
- Travel disrupted by AI → Self-driving luxury camper takes you on a personalized tour, optimized for experience and minimized for wait times
- Restaurants disrupted by fad diets → Anti-aging dinner clubs, with meals tailored to biomarkers and wearables data
- Commerce disrupted by currency proliferation → AI-powered bartering markets that skip currencies completely
Activate Your Future
Thanks for reading. I help leaders get faster growth through data and scale. My approach is built on what works: Data Decides. Insights Inform. Moments Matter. Systems Sustain. Talent Transforms.
🔹 Stay Connected: Subscribe to this newsletter for weekly insights and follow me on LinkedIn.
🔸 Take a Next Step: Connect with me at https://customercatalytics.com/connect/ to schedule an introductory meeting.
© 2025 Customer Catalytics. All rights reserved.