Disruption – the nature of it. A Myriad dance with Debbie
Last week, in my home state of Queensland, we had an extreme weather event called Debbie. Cyclone Debbie, to be exact. She made landfall in north Queensland, with winds of up to 260 kilometres an hour, on March 28th.
Many homes were lost. Lives changed course. Heartbreak.
Then, Debbie moved south and dropped an alarming amount of rain onto Southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales. Some areas experienced the worst flooding in their history. Many homes and businesses have been lost. At least 4 people are dead. Not yet done, the floodwaters are now rising in central Queensland, peaking today or tomorrow. Nearly a week after Debbie was spawned. Debbie is gone, but the taste of her lingers hard and bitter.
In Brisbane last week, 30th/31st March, a big State Government-funded SXSW-type event was being held. Many speakers, investors, and approximately 2,000 tickets sold. As someone who has coordinated two similar events, albeit on a smaller scale, I know just how much effort goes into these endeavours. In this case, a year of hard work. Commitment. All in.
And Thursday, the big Day 1 of the full program, was right on the day we were literally drenched with flooding rains.
We talk in business about disruption. About how to be a disruptive business. Disrupt the status quo. Become an Uber or Airbnb. All the opportunities! Disruption is king. The holy grail of our unicorn-loving Silicon-enhanced, Silicon-entranced startup community. Disrupt disrupt disrupt!
And there was Mother Nature, in all her glory, giving us a lesson in disruption. All schools closed, businesses advised to go home at lunchtime, and a big event was announced on Thursday mid-morning that the remainder of the day was cancelled. Boom. Like that.
Businesses will continue to be disrupted by extreme weather events. This will not become a random occurrence. It will become regular. In all the world. And most of us know it. Feel it. Not just the weather, the economy, the political system, our relationships with our global neighbours. Disruption will be done to us, time and again.
We have to learn to not only plan for disruption, but also become a dancing partner of disruption. To expect it. Move with it. Have reserves of resources to anticipate it. Laugh and play with it.
Myriad event crew did a great job of managing through this. They made it a story. They worked into the night to rearrange the schedule for Friday. They featured a ‘Storm’ Stage.
The juxtaposition of an event about disruption/startups/entrepreneurialism being so thoroughly disrupted by the master disruptor of all, Nature, was worth noting.
Nature reigns supreme. Anytime we do forget, she not-so-gently reminds us.
Think you are the King of the World, Mr Unicorn wannabe?
Sorry, the Lady has a different view. And she will humble us all. Eventually.
