Epic Disruptions … from gunpowder to the printing press, transistors and the Model T, Pampers and the iPhone, steel and SpaceX … how great shocks inspire even greater reinvention

October 20, 2025

Disruption is everywhere. In every market, in every industry, relentless waves of technology are redrawing the boundaries of what’s possible. AI, synthetic biology, quantum computing, renewable energy, autonomous systems — each one carries the power to shake up established orders and open new frontiers of value.

Yet the real opportunity of disruption is not in the chaos it creates, but in the reinvention it enables. Disruption is the spark; reinvention is the flame. It’s what allows industries to evolve, companies to reinvent themselves, and societies to reimagine how we live, work and grow.

I remember being on stage with Scott Anthony five years ago in the Danish city of Odense. I was hosting a “strategy boxing match” — five rounds of ideas and intellectual sparring between Scott and Howard Yu. Scott narrowly edged the win, thanks in no small part to his gift for storytelling — the kind that makes you see the familiar world anew.

His latest book, Epic Disruptions, carries that same energy: full of rich stories about the great disruptions that have shaped our modern world. But its real impact lies not just in recounting the past — it’s in what these stories reveal about the future, and about how today’s business leaders can turn disruption into an opportunity for reinvention.

Here are 12 of those “epic disruptions” — moments when human ingenuity collided with technological possibility and reshaped the course of business, society and daily life. And what it means today.

1. Gunpowder: from alchemical discovery to global power shifts … harnessing serendipity in innovation

Historical Context:
Gunpowder was discovered in 9th-century China by alchemists seeking an elixir of immortality. Initially intended for fireworks and ceremonial displays, it quickly became a revolutionary weapon. The Mongol Empire used gunpowder to conquer vast territories, and centuries later, European armies adopted and improved it, fundamentally altering the nature of warfare and empire-building.

Impact:
Gunpowder shifted global power structures. It rendered traditional fortifications less effective, accelerated military innovation, and catalyzed geopolitical change. The ripple effects included the rise and fall of empires and new trade routes shaped by military dominance.

Lessons for Today:
Innovation often emerges serendipitously. Modern companies like BYD have thrived by identifying unexpected applications of technology. Initially a battery manufacturer, BYD leveraged its core expertise to become the world’s largest EV producer. Leaders today must cultivate curiosity, remain agile, and be ready to pivot when new possibilities arise.

2. The Printing Press: democratising knowledge and accelerating change … lessons in accessibility and scale

Historical Context:
Johannes Gutenberg’s movable-type press (c. 1450) transformed communication. Books, previously laboriously hand-copied, could now be mass-produced, making knowledge accessible to a wider public. This catalyzed the Renaissance, Reformation, and Scientific Revolution.

Impact:
The printing press undermined monopolies on knowledge, elevated literacy, and democratized education. It accelerated the spread of ideas and fostered cultural, scientific, and political revolutions.

Lessons for Today:
Accessibility drives adoption. Platforms like Canva echo this principle by enabling anyone to produce professional-quality design without formal training. Making tools and knowledge widely available creates new markets and shifts power toward those who can democratise creativity.

3. Bacon and Boyle: establishing the scientific method … systematic reinvention, a disciplined and repeatable process

Historical Context:
In the 17th century, Francis Bacon and Robert Boyle formalized the principles of modern scientific inquiry. By prioritizing observation, experimentation, and empirical evidence over tradition, they laid the foundation for systematic knowledge creation.

Impact:
The scientific method catalyzed the Industrial Revolution, enabling predictable innovation. It allowed discoveries to be reproduced and scaled, leading to advances in medicine, chemistry, physics, and engineering.

Lessons for Today:
Structured experimentation accelerates learning. Companies like BYD and Tesla apply rigorous testing and iteration to product development, ensuring resilience and adaptability. Reinvention is not a lucky accident — it is a repeatable, disciplined process.

4. Florence Nightingale: turning data into life-saving action … data-driven decision making

Historical Context:
During the Crimean War, Nightingale meticulously documented patient deaths and hospital conditions. Her visualizations demonstrated that sanitation, not battlefield treatment, drastically reduced mortality.

Impact:
Her work reshaped hospital design and public health policy, establishing the power of statistical evidence and persuasive storytelling in effecting systemic change.

Lessons for Today:
Data is transformative only when coupled with human insight. Modern platforms like Canva leverage user data to refine features, optimize experiences, and anticipate needs, demonstrating that data-driven decisions can drive meaningful innovation and customer engagement.

5. The Model T: mass production and affordability … reinventing access to everyday life

Historical Context:
Henry Ford’s assembly line (1908) transformed automobile manufacturing. By standardizing production, he reduced costs and made cars affordable to millions, fundamentally altering mobility and urban development.

Impact:
The Model T catalyzed societal change: people could travel farther, cities expanded, and industries such as oil and road construction boomed.

Lessons for Today:
Process innovation is as crucial as product innovation. Companies like BYD and Tesla scale efficiently by optimizing production, making sustainable technologies accessible. Affordability and scalability are essential levers in market reinvention.

6. The Transistor: from vacuum tubes to the digital revolution … enabling modular innovation

Historical Context:
Invented at Bell Labs in 1947, the transistor replaced bulky vacuum tubes, allowing electronics to become smaller, more efficient, and more reliable.

Impact:
It enabled the digital age, giving rise to computers, smartphones, and global communication networks, laying the foundation for modern technology ecosystems.

Lessons for Today:
The transistor demonstrates the power of modular, scalable technology. Cloud platforms like Canva rely on similar principles — compressing complexity into reusable, accessible tools that can reach millions. Reinvention occurs when innovation becomes composable and widely applicable.

7. Julia Child: making expertise accessible … scaling human passion

Historical Context:
Julia Child introduced French cooking to American households through her cookbook and television series. She transformed cooking from an elite art into a popular, approachable skill.

Impact:
Her influence reshaped American culture, culinary education, and the domestic sphere, inspiring generations to explore creativity in everyday life.

Lessons for Today:
Simplifying complex skills for broad audiences is a powerful form of disruption. Platforms like Canva democratize design, lowering the barriers for creativity and empowering millions to participate in professional-grade work.

8. McDonald’s: standardising experiences … scaling trust across borders

Historical Context:
Ray Kroc expanded McDonald’s, systematizing food preparation to ensure consistency worldwide. This operational innovation turned a local fast-food brand into a global franchise powerhouse.

Impact:
McDonald’s demonstrated how systems thinking and operational excellence could scale an experience, transforming consumer expectations and industry standards.

Lessons for Today:
Reliability and scalability are essential for modern businesses. Digital platforms that maintain consistent user experiences — Canva being a prime example — can achieve global reach and trust, transforming markets without physical presence.

9. Pampers: everyday innovation … reinventing daily life

Historical Context:
Procter & Gamble introduced disposable diapers, revolutionizing childcare by providing convenience, hygiene, and time savings for parents.

Impact:
Beyond profit, this innovation reshaped social norms, supported workforce participation for women, and sparked new consumer categories.

Lessons for Today:
Solving small, daily problems can have outsized impact. Modern innovators like Canva address user frustrations in everyday tasks, showing that solutions that improve quality of life create lasting market value.

10. The iPhone: convergence as disruption … redefining interaction and ecosystems

Historical Context:
Apple’s iPhone (2007) combined a phone, media player, and internet device, creating an ecosystem that integrated hardware, software, and services.

Impact:
The iPhone reshaped communication, commerce, and entertainment, establishing a platform for millions of applications and redefining human interaction with technology.

Lessons for Today:
Disruption often occurs at intersections. Canva, by integrating multiple design tools into a unified platform, mirrors the iPhone’s philosophy, demonstrating that convergence creates new user behaviours and business models.

11. Big Steel: industrial might meets market turbulence … the need for agile reinvention

Historical Context:
Bethlehem Steel once epitomized industrial power, supplying materials for skyscrapers and warships. By the late 20th century, global competition and technological lag forced its decline.

Impact:
Its collapse highlighted the risks of scale without adaptability and underscored the need for operational agility and continuous innovation in heavy industry.

Lessons for Today:
Even market leaders are vulnerable without reinvention. Modern industrial giants, and emerging competitors in sectors like EVs, must combine scale with flexibility, adopting new technologies and processes before market forces demand it.

12. SpaceX: reimagining the impossible … bold missions as catalysts for industry transformation

Historical Context:
SpaceX, founded in 2002 by Elon Musk, sought to reduce the cost of space travel and make interplanetary colonization feasible. By developing reusable rockets, it disrupted decades of aerospace orthodoxy.

Impact:
SpaceX lowered launch costs, catalyzed private space investment, and challenged national space agencies, accelerating innovation across the sector.

Lessons for Today:
Disruption is amplified by audacity. Companies that set bold missions — Tesla, SpaceX, BYD — attract talent, capital, and public attention, creating ecosystems that accelerate transformation. Reinvention often begins with a vision that seems impossible until it becomes inevitable.

Patterns of reinvention

Across these ten disruptions, patterns emerge that are as relevant today as they were centuries ago:

  • Technology plus transformation. Invention alone doesn’t disrupt; transformation of systems does. Gunpowder and transistors changed the world only when institutions adapted around them.

  • Standardisation enables scale. From Ford’s production line to McDonald’s kitchen, repeatability turns novelty into ubiquity.

  • Translation is key. Julia Child and Florence Nightingale show that making ideas understandable is itself an act of innovation.

  • Ecosystems multiply impact. The printing press, the transistor and the Model T all spawned industries that extended far beyond their originators.

  • Second-order effects shape the future. Disruption’s long tail — the cultural, ethical and environmental consequences — often matters more than the first shock.

Implications for today’s leaders

So what do these stories mean for leaders navigating today’s volatile, opportunity-rich environment?

  • Think systemically. Look beyond your product to the processes, partners and institutions that shape its adoption.

  • Design for reinvention. Build modular organisations and business models that can pivot as new technologies emerge.

  • Invest in translation. The winners will be those who can explain complexity simply — in healthtech, fintech, or AI ethics.

  • Balance scale with flexibility. Learn from Big Steel’s fate; embed agility into large systems.

  • Anticipate externalities. Every new convenience has a cost. Sustainable innovation is no longer optional; it’s the next competitive frontier.

Disruption is just the start, reinvention is what matters

Epic Disruptions is, ultimately, a book about reinvention. Each story shows that while disruption begins with surprise, its true significance lies in how people, organisations and societies respond. Gunpowder redrew empires; the printing press created knowledge economies; Ford, McDonald’s and Pampers redefined everyday life. Each wave of change bred new winners — those who saw not the threat, but the invitation to reinvent.

The same is true today. Technology will keep advancing at extraordinary speed, but its real power lies in human imagination — in the capacity of leaders to reshape their businesses and themselves around what’s next. Disruption, in the end, is only half the story. Reinvention is the other half — and the more important one.

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