105 How to Disrupt Yourself (with author Whitney Johnson)

Are you ready for change? Feel complacent, under-challenged, or maybe like you’ve put in your time already? If so, it’s time to disrupt yourself.

This week’s Inspire Me quote is from Whitney Johnson—and is a flip on Winston Churchill’s famous “Never, never, never give up” quote:

“Always, always, always show up.” 

In this episode, Whitney Johnson joins Leary and Armin to talk about:

• Disruptive innovations.


• The “S-curve”—a mathematical equation that helps us understand how innovation is adopted.


• The signs of plateauing and knowing when to jump to the next “S-curve.”


• Seven variables that can affect our progress along the “S-curve.”


• Market vs. competitive risk.

Quotes from the show:

• “The more I read about these ideas, the more I realized that if I really wanted to get something done in life, then I was going to have to disrupt myself.” —Whitney Johnson


• “Disruption isn’t just about products and services and companies and countries. It actually starts with the individual.” —Whitney Johnson


• “A disruptive innovation distilled to its essence is a low-end or new market innovation that eventually upends an industry.” —Whitney Johnson


• “At the top of the curve, you’re starting to approach mastery […], but your brain is now no longer enjoying the feel-good effects of learning. […] You’re not learning as much as you were. If you don’t jump to a new curve, that plateau becomes a precipice because you start to become bored and you can actually precipitate your own demise.” —Whitney Johnson


• “If you can learn to surf these S-curve waves of disruption in an era when disruption is actually accelerating—this is a skill set you can bring to the table in managing your business as well as your life and career.” —Whitney Johnson


• “Seventy percent of all successful new businesses end up with a strategy other than the one they initially pursued.” —Whitney Johnson


• “Battling entitlement is a linchpin; it’s one of those things that can bite us and we don’t see it. But I think one of the most critical [variables] is developing your distinctive strengths.” —Whitney Johnson

This week’s Challenge Me:

Start paying attention to the complements that you’re getting. Write them down. Then ask yourself, “Am I bringing these complements, these strengths, these super powers to work? Am I bringing them to my relationships?”

Where are you at in your S-curve? What do you think of some of the suggestions and ideas we discussed in this episode? Share your comments or questions below.

Resources mentioned in or related to this podcast:

• Leary’s review of Whitney Johnson’s book, Disrupt Yourself: Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work.


• Whitney’s book, Disrupt Yourself: Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work.


• Clayton Christensen’s The Innovator’s Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book That Will Change the Way You Do Business.