Larger companies rely on staff and formal processes to solve problems, while smaller firms use specialized tools to punch above their weight. Tool-driven teams can outperform traditional organizations and drive disruptive innovation because they lack the resources to hire for everything.
Staff versus tools. I think this is a big dichotomy for larger companies versus smaller companies, but also frankly, just companies that are on the grow versus those that are a bit more established. You're going to find that established companies have much bigger staffing. They solve problems with people. They have organizations and SOPs and what have you that are about how people do things. And companies that are a bit more on the way up, they are innovating by making more use of tools because they can't afford the people because they are growing from a smaller base and their future is going to be bigger than their past, but the past is what's paying bills right now. And so they need to be much more efficient about those things, but also they look for greater effectiveness. Think tools they can use that will be just different and a higher level of performance than anything that the person could do over in the existing company. When I talk to you, companies are very proud of using staff, but when I talk to people who are entrepreneurs, they are excited about figuring out new tools. If you are embracing tools, you can be the avant-garde, and that is how you create a disruptive innovation.
