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We spend a lot of time talking about how to build what’s next. But strategic disruption doesn’t just come from new ideas. This week’s article explores how to approach disruption as a deliberate, engineered strategy, not an accidental outcome. We look at five patterns that drive disruption, and how to operationalize those inside your company or venture.

You’ll also find a case study on Nintendo’s Wii, a disruption play built on the back of limited hardware and a sharp rejection of gaming’s dominant logic.

Here’s what you’ll find:

Cover Image Credit: Roseville.CA.US

Most founders (or innovators, for that matter) don’t set out to disrupt an industry. They start with a problem worth solving. A job to be done. The moment of disruption shows up later, and only after solving that problem reveals a shift in the assumptions of how an industry works.

But why wait? Disruption opens new markets and creates massive growth potential. Which begs the question: can it be done deliberately?

Can you design a path to disruption instead of hoping to stumble into it?

Planning for disruption has nothing to do with mimicking startup culture or picking a fight with incumbents. It begins with mapping where entrenched systems are weakest, then filling in the gaps that others can’t or won’t address.

Disruption isn’t a side effect. It’s a design choice. If you want to open new markets and unlock runaway growth, you can’t just hope to stumble into it. You have to engineer your way there.

Strategic disruption allows you to identify gaps others don’t see and serve needs they won’t touch. It unlocks new markets by surfacing customers and use cases that incumbents ignore. Done right, it creates growth that isn’t dependent on stealing share or defending margin. It comes from offering something the existing system wasn’t built to support.

Disruption works not because it breaks things. It works because it makes room for something cheaper, easier to use, or more accessible. And if you can surface those opportunities early, you can design your way into them, on purpose.

The most effective disruptions begin with a clear line of inquiry: what parts of this system are treated as immutable? This step isn’t optional. It’s foundational. If you’re not challenging the industry’s defaults, you’re not setting yourself up to do anything meaningfully different.

Before you begin with customer interviews or product roadmaps, start by mapping the assumptions that shape how your industry works. Focus specifically on those that others view as inflexible — the invisible defaults that guide how legacy players view the market:

This is where new markets emerge. They come from people who’ve been excluded or underserved because they didn’t fit the old logic. Once you find those people, talk to them. Understand the jobs they’re trying to get done. Let them shape what you build, how you go to market, and how you communicate value.

These core assumptions are often the most fragile, and least questioned, part of the system. Interrogate them deeply from day one and continue to question them throughout your customer development process.