Disruptive Innovation: Is your Board structure fit-for-purpose or out-of-date?

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I’m advising a board wrestling with a restructure in the face of rapid change, plus growth:

I’m comparing it with organisations that recently failed to meet changing customer expectations – and as a consequence failed/are failing as an organisation.

What are the warning signs? Is it a lack of board level undertanding of marketing and the components of growth; or failure to understand the pattern of disruptive innovations? Is it a flawed habit of filling a board with people with yesterday’s expertise?

If we’re recommending to a current board struggling with change, I’m interested in where current approaches fail?

Examples in Australia: Drinkwise was a alcohol-awarenes campaign aimed at the youth market – and mainly missed. David Jones needed to grow online, and didn’t. Fairfax needed a new direction, and stayed the course. Some universities are heading down the same path as newspapers. The same could be said for a whole raft of Australian manufacturers.

Peter Wilkinson is the Managing Director of Wilkinson Group, a crisis communications and reputation management consultancy based in Sydney. He is former chair and consults to Wilkinson Butler. His retained advisory service, Wilkinson Confidante, provides ongoing crisis preparedness and reputation counsel to boards and senior executives.