Competition is one of the main internal market factors that drive new products and services. Once an analyst or organization develops a new product, others scramble to imitate it with slight changes or new features. This has been considered a tried-and-true method for gaining a competitive edge, but with market changes and increasingly differentiated products that are starting to mimic each other, it does not prove as effective in today’s markets. The process of disruption encourages thinking outside of this cycle to continually create products and services that do not exist in current markets that appeal to a new customer base and are hard for competitors to imitate in the short term. The honing of disruptive thinking skills will help to ensure that you are onto a new idea by the time competitors can imitate what you have already done.

Competition takes on a new meaning in the context of disruptive thinking. Though it is important to keep your eye on existing and developing competitors, the goal is not to improve on the products they are creating or slightly change the service they are offering, but to twist the clichés and assumptions that keep competitors doing the same thing as a jumping board for creating something completely new. Do not make a better mousetrap–– make a mouse that doesn't need to be trapped.