For a decade, the word “disruption” has become a mantra in boardrooms, incubators and international conferences. It is invoked as a kind of entrepreneurial Holy Grail: each startup, each product, each initiative must “break the codes”, “shake up industries” or “revolutionize the customer experience”. But behind this seductive storytelling lies a less glorious reality: the majority of companies and entrepreneurs reproduce the same models, revisit the same ideas and, paradoxically, fail to create new real frameworks.
For business leaders and founders, understanding why this phenomenon occurs is essential. Because if disruption has become a rhetorical totem, true innovation – that which builds lasting frameworks rather than breaking ephemeral rules – remains rare and precious.
The storytelling of disruption: a concept that has become commonplace
Disruption, popularized by Clayton Christensen in the 1990s, describes a specific process: the emergence of innovations that radically change the way a market operates, often starting with neglected segments before dominating the industry. The concept is rigorous, analytical and based on observation of the market, technologies and behaviors.
But the storytelling that surrounds it today has taken a more symbolic than operational turn. In presentations, press releases and startup pitches, “disruption” has become synonymous with “cool”, “radical” or “iconoclast”. The problem is that this storytelling transforms disruption into a performative imperative: you have to appear revolutionary, even if the real innovation is minor or marginal.
In practice, many companies are content to reinterpret existing models, to paint red what was blue, or to promise to “break the codes” without ever establishing a new framework that sustainably structures the customer experience or the functioning of the market.
Why breaking the codes has become a reflex
The desire to “break the codes” responds to several understandable motivations:
Market and investor pressure:
In an ecosystem obsessed with rapid growth and fundraising, the words “radical innovation” and “disruption” attract attention and credibility.
Media culture:
the media love stories of revolutions and ruptures. A disruptive product sells better than a product that subtly improves an existing market.
Entrepreneurial psychology:
founders and leaders like to see themselves as avant-garde, visionaries capable of breaking norms and challenging preconceived ideas.
This combination creates a powerful bias: action is valued if it seems disruptive, but the true scale of the innovation matters less than the narrative that accompanies it.
The divide between narrative disruption and frame creation
Real change lies not only in disruption, but in the ability to create a new framework: a set of rules, standards and structures that permanently redefine a market, an experience or an organization.
Airbnb, for example, has not only broken the codes of the hotel industry: the platform has created a new framework for hospitality. Uber, despite the controversy surrounding it, has implemented an urban mobility framework based on instant accessibility and driver rating. Spotify redefined access to music by instituting a freemium model that structured the industry. In each of these cases, innovation goes beyond disruption: it invents new and coherent rules that allow the ecosystem to function differently.
However, these examples are the exception rather than the norm. Many so-called disruptions are “improved copies” or cosmetic adjustments: they break a superficial rule but do not create a new framework that transforms the market in a lasting way.
The consequences for businesses
Focusing solely on disruption rather than building frameworks has concrete consequences:
- Team burnout: Employees are pushed to be constantly radical and creative, without a clear vision from management.
- Strategic dilution: initiatives appear innovative in the short term but do not generate lasting value.
- Loss of credibility: when storytelling does not correspond to reality, customers and investors become skeptical.
Ultimately, this obsession with performative disruption can create an environment where true innovation is stifled: teams are afraid to create slowly but solidly, because it doesn’t fit the expected narrative.
Rehabilitate the creation of frames
If breaking the rules is no longer enough, what should business leaders and creators do? The answer lies in the concept of framing:
- think of innovation as a means of structuring,
- harmonize
- enrich the ecosystem rather than simply disrupt it.
- Identify implicit rules: every industry operates according to norms, explicit or tacit. Understanding these rules allows you to decide which ones are worth challenging and which ones can be used to build a new framework.
- Create consistent standards: a framework is not limited to a product or technology. It includes practices, interfaces, experiences and even business models. Consistency transforms disruption into lasting leverage.
- Involve the ecosystem: effective frameworks are not imposed unilaterally. They emerge from the interaction between actors, customers and partners. Narrative disruption alone is not enough: we must co-construct the new rules.
By adopting this approach, companies can become true market architects rather than isolated rule breakers.
The role of leadership in this change
Rehabilitating executive creation requires different leadership. Leaders must:
- value patience: building a new framework takes time and does not result in sensational headlines or immediate fundraising.
- encourage rigor: teams must think about the implications of each innovation for the entire market, not just the product or service.
- celebrate learning: Even if a framework is not immediately successful, experimentation provides valuable lessons for the next initiative.
This leadership is not incompatible with disruption: it channels it and transforms it into a structuring force rather than a performative communication.
How to move from disruption storytelling to framework creation
For leaders and creators, turning this vision into practice requires several concrete steps:
Refocus the internal narrative:
rather than communicating about “breaking the codes”, talk about “structuring new experiences” or “building sustainable standards”.
Measuring systemic value:
instead of only measuring buzz or immediate growth, evaluate the impact on the ecosystem, consistency and sustainability.
Encourage systemic thinking:
each initiative must be evaluated in terms of the new rules it imposes or transforms, rather than its superficially disruptive character.
Allocate time and resources: Creating a framework requires experimentation, research, and iteration. Companies must accept that the return on investment is not immediate.
By adopting these practices, the storytelling of disruption gives way to a deeper strategic approach, capable of creating a real and lasting impact.
