Riding Technology Waves

Technology businesses are heavily influenced by waves of technology change, like the rise of the internet or AI. Knowing how to adjust strategy for these changes is one of the most important skills to develop. As technology has advanced, technology waves have become larger, more frequent, and more sudden. In just the last 30 years (less than a full career, literally less than the time between graduation and your first 401k payout) we’ve seen: The rise of the consumer internet, creating massive companies like Google, Amazon, Meta and Netflix, and essentially killing dozens of industries from print media to Blockbuster videos. The rise of cloud (enterprise internet), which was an extinction event for on-prem B2B software that companies like Adobe, Bloomberg, and Microsoft managed to survive. The rise of mobile, creating massive companies like Uber and Instagram, turbo-charging companies like Apple and Meta, temporarily shoving Microsoft into a corner, and reshaping where we spend our…