Mindset Matters: How Disability Will Influence The Next Decade Of Innovation And Shape The Business Of The Future

This column is designed to be a clarion call for organizations to recognize that business, as usual, has changed. In this new decade cultivating a competitive advantage is as much about developing a well-defined business philosophy as it is about creating a superior product or service. For those companies willing to embrace this new culture change, they must be ready to integrate Disability as a critical component of not only their foundational business strategy but an essential piece in developing a pathway to innovation. In this first column of the new decade Mindset Matters is setting out to explore more deeply what the current landscape looks like and how key market segments are responding to Disability as a new normal in business parlance. By beginning with two critical areas, technology and the future of work, Mindset Matters’ goal is to show that the next wave of innovation will need disability as one of the most compelling building blocks for growth and an essential piece for business in the next decade.

In developing a more robust business philosophy that integrates disability into the everyday lexicon, technology serves as a low hanging fruit. Whether it be on the consumer product side from home computing, video games, to numerous digital devices that enhance our everyday lives from music to Smart Home technology like Google Home and Amazon’s Alexa.  The disability market itself is diverse by nature and has a myriad of needs. According to both Zion Market Research and Coherent Market Research, the global value of the technology space amongst persons with disabilities and an aging population will increase from $14 billion dollars in 2015 to an estimated $30.8 billion by 2024.  Either established players like Microsoft or Amazon or new innovative startups, it is essential to think about the future of your products and services with a disability lens in mind.

 However, an aspect that all technology-related firms need to continue to be wary of is making a persistent effort to solve the digital divide. In this new decade, accessibility is essential as a key piece of design across the entire tech ecosystem. Companies will begin to realize that accessibility and digital diversity will be essential for them in order to maintain a competitive advantage.  Forward-thinking organizations have already taken the first step by incorporating the hiring needs of persons with disabilities with natural talents toward STEM work. Through the Autism @ Work Employer Roundtable a collection of companies that include SAP, Dell, IBM, Microsoft among others have spearheaded autism-focused hiring initiatives that are redefining the culture and development for people with autism. This bold statement marks a turning point in the technology industry not only from a hiring perspective but from the standpoint where persons with disabilities will become key players in the evolution of the technology space moving forward.

Future of Work

The nature of work has continued to evolve, and it is in this digital age that we are seeing a generational shift in what people expect out of there employers. Mindset Matters has always espoused that disability plays a critical function in how we think about the role of work in the economy of today. Persons with disabilities were early adopters of looking at job design in new ways so they can find alternatives to meet there needs and be productive employees in the process. Companies are realizing that in fact, flexible work arrangements may have some merit. Microsoft Founder Bill Gates recently shared that one of the most important perks that a company can provide is offering its employees flexible work arrangements. His ideas have been substantiated by a recent Harvard Business School study that states “Companies that let their workers decide where and when to do their jobs-whether in another city or in the middle of the night-increase employee productivity, reduce turnover, and lower organizational costs…”  

In the coming decade companies need to rethink disability ERG groups as not just an affinity group, but a laboratory where organizations can explore the future of work and engage in new ideas thought processes and explore design solutions that impact areas from human capital to workplace technology. Disability in the coming decade will serve as a seminal narrative to help redefine the world of work on a global level but also allow for a closer examination of how the individual worker can grow and thrive throughout the lifecycle of their career.

The new decade offers a fresh vision of the potential of the world to come. Seeing disability as a strength-based narrative and being defined as a new normal in the context of business will take time. However, those that embrace it will realize that they have embarked on new opportunities for growth in numerous market segments that are primed for expansion.