Power of disruption

Although one has heard the term ad nauseam that Pakistan’s situation is very fragile (nazuk soorat e haal), it would not be an exaggeration to say that currently Pakistan is passing through exceedingly tough times. The status quo is wobbling as the new kids on the block are banging on the door demanding to be let back into the rarefied corridors of power and pelf. There is polarisation but, on the other hand, debate has never been so energised or sacred cows the target of so many barbs and incisive questioning. The economy is in danger of sinking and tough decisions are in the offing to haul the country out of the financial morass that it is reeling from. Doomsday scenarios of Pakistan turning into Sri Lanka are being bandied about as petrol prices go through the roof.

As Charles Dickens said in ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

In the midst of this tumult and chaos, there lies (I won’t say hope, because that is an esoteric term) a powerful engine for growth and change that is being ignored. The power of disruption.

Learning to embrace disruption in order to reinvent yourself is a superpower worthy of the Marvel Universe. Time to step out of long-established comfort zones and tackle the powder keg that has been building up financed by hand-outs from international financial institutions. Reality check: despite the grand notions of sovereignty and independence parroted by leader after leader on stage, the most recent being Imran Khan, we are a poor country that has been kept alive on ventilator support in foreign shores.

Despite the poverty of our situation, for many it is as if the good times will never end. For instance, obscenely expensive weddings with wedding planners charging Rs. 25 lakhs and above for just one function. The addiction to obscenely expensive branded products, be they clothes, television, chocolates, pet food, luxury cars and phones, food, accessories, the list is endless.

It is time to brace for impact. The truth is that despite the chest thumping à la Tarzan, no one will take us seriously on the world stage if we are weak. It is time to stand on our own feet instead of clutching at the coat tails of foreign benefactors.

While the slings and arrows of misfortune may be painful to navigate, this disruption is an opportunity to grow and innovate. The story of Singapore is a case in point. There was a time when it was known as an island with no natural resources. Now it is dubbed as the ‘Monaco of the East.’ What led to this dramatic transformation?

One man engineered this miracle along with the support of the people. Lee Kuan Yew, former Prime Minister of Singapore, laid emphasis on growth despite odds and worked towards attracting investors to Singapore. He concentrated on the infrastructure and installed superb air and sea linkages. There was great emphasis on paying taxes and ensuring that there was transparency. The efficient bureaucracy was not corrupt and Yew developed a neutral foreign policy which kept Singapore out of the cross hairs of superpowers.

Turkey under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is another success story. Both these leaders were disruptors who changed the fortune of their countries. While visiting the United Arab Emirates pavilion at the Dubai Expo, we were met by numerous lit up sand dune installations. The savvy attendant smiled, “This is what we started off with. Sand. That is all we had.”

And now look at UAE. They were not content to live a Bedouin life so they chose disruption and manifested their long term vision.

The story of Netflix and Blockbuster Videos is another great learning lesson. There was a time when Blockbuster could have bought Netflix for $50 million, but its CEO thought it was a joke. At that time Blockbuster was a giant while Netflix was a start-up disruptor in the market. Since they were struggling financially, they reached out to Blockbuster for a meeting. At the meeting, Netflix Co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings went over Blockbuster’s strengths and said there were areas where it could benefit from Netflix’s market position and expertise. He proposed joining forces so that they could run the online part of the combined business. Blockbuster could then focus on the stores. “We will find the synergies that come from the combination, and it will truly be a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.”

Blockbuster executives were unconvinced, arguing that the Netflix model was completely unsustainable. The Netflix executives were shown the door. Today, Netflix is the undisputed giant while Blockbuster is a footnote from history and a lesson in what happens when you don’t adapt to a changing world.

In the U.S, Rosa Parks was the great disruptor in 1955 who kick started the Civil Rights Movement when she refused to give up her seat to a white man on an Alabama bus. Her bravery inspired the local black community to congregate and organize a year-long boycott led by Dr Martin Luther King. The boycott led to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that bus segregation was unconstitutional.

That time has come for Pakistan. Don’t give up your seat so easily.

The writer is Oped Editor, Bol News