Digitaldarwinismus

Charles Darwin already said it with his theory of evolution: through natural selection, the stronger will always survive. What applies to the transformation of species also applies to our business world – all the more so when it comes to a successful digital transformation.

Tom Goodwin takes us along on an evolution in his book "Digitaldarwinismus - Das Überleben der Stärksten im Zeitalter der Disruption". An evolution triggered by technology.

In this review, you'll find out why I liked the combination of the theory of evolution, technological progress and radical disruption.

Just as Frank Thelen mentioned in his book "10xDNA", Tom Goodwin also postulates accelerating change. Companies can only survive these changes, driven by technological progress, if they disrupt themselves. So they have to question and destroy themselves and their business model in order to emerge (more) successfully from the changes.

Incremental changes describe the further development of something that already exists, e.g. more storage on a smartphone. In the future, that will be just as insufficient as the much-invoked "innovations" of companies that, on closer inspection, aren't real innovations at all. We should therefore put more focus on disruption. This is the core problem the book revolves around.

In "Digitaldarwinismus", Tom Goodwin names three drivers of these changes, which I found quite interesting:

1. Global change
2. Irrelevance of size
3. The triumph of rebellious companies

He describes these three areas very vividly and simply, which made it easy for me to follow his thoughts. Paired with practical examples, his (almost) insistence on the necessity of disruption was very easy to understand. What I also liked were his explanations of paradigm shifts, which I hadn't really "had on my radar" before.

Only when (rebellious) companies question previously valid paradigms can something truly new emerge. Important: old paradigms cannot be changed with old competencies. That takes new competencies. "Today we are educating the adults of 2040 with the methods of industrialists from 1840." A radical but, in my opinion, fitting sentence! I really liked this radicalness in his statements!

So we get a really good all-round view and learn why "Digitaldarwinismus" is so fundamental in its effects.

In short: for visionaries and disruptors. For all those who question the status quo and want to understand the profound impact technologies have on society and entrepreneurship.

Still, the book isn't only for visionaries and thinkers, but also for people who are interested in technology and its effects. That's because we also get to know the technological revolutions. They fuel the problem of ever faster change. Since I also find this very important as an explanation of the book's main topic, let me briefly mention them here:

1. Pre-technological age
2. Middle age <= that's where we are right now
3. Post-technological age

Tom Goodwin explains the individual phases very vividly and entertainingly, so you can always follow his explanations well.

A wonderfully written book that, despite its year of publication, has lost none of its relevance and importance! Despite many similar publications on the subject, I found great additions and information on the topic of disruption in this book. It also complements the book "Danke für die Disruption" well.

Little tip: Follow Tom Goodwin on Twitter. A highly recommended thread on digital disruption and transformation.