What Best Buy Taught Me About Seeing Disruption Clearly

In the early 2000s, Best Buy was on a tear. The company had grown explosively, redefining the electronics retail landscape. But inside the company, some leaders recognized a deeper strategic question: how do we sustain growth in a world about to be reshaped by technology?

When I was tapped by the SVP of Strategic Planning, my first assignment wasn't to lead — it was to learn. My job was to turn complexity into shared clarity — to build a common language among a diverse executive team so we could think, question, and act together.

What we learned was sobering. Our financial analysts discovered that the contribution to economic profits from accessories, warranties, and services was even more meaningful than the core products that made Best Buy famous. We realized that technological change wouldn't just create new products — it would reshape customer expectations, business models, and the very fabric of retail economics.

Recognizing that no one person could master all the new technologies alone, I built a volunteer network of "disruptive technology mavens," borrowing the term from Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point. Experts from IT, merchandising, stores, services, and supply chain joined voluntarily — not because they had to, but because they cared. Together, we built an internal early warning system — a disruption radar — designed to spot weak signals before they became strong trends.

"We weren't trying to predict the future. We were trying to see it early enough to matter."

Five Leadership Lessons in the Key of Disruption

First: Not Every Virtuoso Can Compose the Chart. Great performers aren't always great composers — and vice versa. Designing the future, arranging the score, and rehearsing the ensemble require different skills than showing up and nailing a solo. The CEO plays the role of the arranger — not just leading the performance, but designing how the music comes together. Don't assume your legacy leaders will have the skills — or the capacity — to do this work in the way it now needs to be done.

Second: Great Bands Improvise Within a Shared Score. How you build a common fact set, common beliefs, common goals, and a shared set of values for how to approach the work is critical. The entire team looking at AI must be able to envision a new future together — covering strategy, AI, technology, organizational structure, and talent collectively.

Third: The Band Is Only as Good as the Bandleader. This is not a part-time job. When we design a change strategy, we look at the business designation, the type of culture, the nature of the change, and the dominant enemy. Each of those combinations calls for a different playbook. You wouldn't scale Mount Everest without an experienced guide. Don't attempt a major transformation without one.

Fourth: If You Never Jam, You'll Never Find the New Sound. Leaders only spend 2.4% of their time looking forward, developing a shared vision of the future with their peers. AI will impact people and structures more than previous disruptions. Do not underestimate the time required to think through this new wave of threats and opportunities.

Fifth: If Culture Eats Strategy, Who's Doing the Cooking? Strategy work is hard. Talenting is even harder. And culturing is the hardest — and most often ignored. Most consultants leave the building after the first step. But that's where the real work begins. You don't need more PowerPoint decks. You need the courage to rebuild your workforce for the future you just mapped.

Why This Matters Even More with AI

Today, many companies are treating AI the way companies once treated broadband, mobility, and home networking: a swirl of excitement, experimentation, and anxiety — but without coherent strategic understanding. The real leadership challenge is the same one we faced years ago: slow down just long enough to ask better questions, build shared understanding, and move forward with conviction.

Disruption doesn't wait. But leaders who slow down just long enough to see clearly — and do so together — will shape what comes next. You don't beat disruption by predicting it. You beat it by seeing it early enough to respond with intent.