MUMBAI: Disruptive innovations like the Indian Premier League (IPL) can break through a cluttered market, several experts said.

Kolkata Knight Riders CEO Venky Mysore noted that the IPL was about challenging the norm. “Viewership has leapt sixfold and the reach has gone beyond traditional cricket lovers. From a business perspective, it was about creating a platform to reach out to a passionate public. The IPL was packaged to catch the people’s attention,” he said.

Particpating in a panel discussion at The Mindshare Brand Equity Compass, LinkedIn India country manager Hari V Krishnan noted that Linkedin created a disruptive innovation in the talent economy. The traditional ways of employment did not give transparency. “We extract insight from data. We are not just about helping somebody find a job but also helping them become more productive in their jobs," he elaborated.

Disruptive innovations can be fought by rival companies by moving into another arena to strike. This is what Cirque Du Soleil did in the circus arena. Microsoft joint MD Hemant Sachdev said that innovation is what makes a company tick as it impacts the consumer experience. “Going forward, the Natural User Interface will be important like Xbox. It is a community that is real and experiential. Telecom is another example of disruptive innovation which gives real value not just to businesses but also to consumers.”

Leaders must provide fertile ground for innovations to grow. Companies, in the process, must be more open to failures and take the risk of adopting disruptive trends so that they break patterns. The interesting thing is that while 95 per cent of ideas fail, innovation is still the only way to succeed.