Outer space is a hostile environment and more and more businesses should relate to that. Just as The Martian’s protagonist struggles to survive by figuring his way out of the danger, subsequent industries are or will be forced to do the same. Because while interstellar or even interplanetary travel is still ahead of us, digital disruption is already here.

1. 7 THINGS MATT DAMON TAUGHT ME
ABOUT DIGITAL DISRUPTION
Paweł Halicki, Experience Designer at Macoscope

2. YOUR BUSINESS IS ON MARS.
YOU JUST HAVEN’T REALISED IT YET

3. There is no business or industry that is not in some
way affected by the rise and exponential growth of
technology.

4. For many companies this new, rapidly changing
digital environment can be harsh, demanding,
or even hostile.

5. (Just look at what’s been happening recently
in the global taxi industry.)

6. BREAKAWAY IS THE ONLY OPTION

7. 1. CHECK RESOURCES

8. Do you remember the scene when Matt Damon
gathers and counts all the food he has?
Try to think of anything that can be useful.

9. It is likely that you already have:
• a working business model,
• a product or service lineup,
• an established distribution network,
• a sales force,
• a media budget, and
• communication channels.

10. Using them as your base will help you transform
existing clients into a user base at much higher rate
than you could ever hope to achieve starting from
scratch.

11. 2. LOOK AROUND

12. Find your potatoes just as Mark Watney finds his way
out of starvation.
There are countless good ideas around the world
every week.

13. Learn from others, see what works, what excites potential
customers and what isn’t worth your time and resources.
Thorough research is consistently underappreciated
as a source of ideas, insights, and benchmarks.

14. 3. FIND A CLEAR PURPOSE

15. What’s your purpose? How will your business benefit
from the implementation of new ideas?
• Are you going to establish a new sales channel?
• Or maybe it’s more about empowering your sales
force with custom tools?
• Giving customers freedom of choice via a product
creator or easy-to-use configurator?
• Using a mobile game to boost sales?

16. Your goal should be clear from the very beginning.
Pick one objective and stick to it.
You don’t know where to start? Good news is that some
software houses can help you with that.

17. 4. ADD VALUE

18. There should be a problem your app solves
or a process it streamlines.

19. The value you can add to your product or service
builds your competitive advantage, generates
referrals, and gives the media a great reason to talk
about you.

20. 5. PLAN, BUILD, TEST, OPTIMIZE

21. There is a moment when you should stop thinking
over and over and start acting.
Get real with the idea as soon as possible. Choose
to build prototypes over slideware.

22. Demand prototypes from your contractors.
Test them on your customers and get realistic data as
soon as possible as it will help you implement
adjustments and optimizations.
This will either show the idea’s true potential or reveal
room for improvement or even missing features.

23. 6. REPEAT

24. Astronauts are trained to focus on thinking
about the next thing that can kill them and it’s proven
to be highly effective.

25. You need to repeat and try harder.

26. Companies develop apps and then abandon them
way too often.
When you have invested real-world time
and money, make it the best possible experience
for your customers. Support new screen sizes, utilize
new OSes, add features, and grow your user base.
Don’t forget that it’s an app, so almost everything
people do with it can be measured.

27. 7. HAVE A TEAM

28. It’s obvious that no one can explore space single-
handedly.
Even Matt Damon.

29. A good team can provide you with an invaluable
perspective and all the skills and resources you don’t
have on board.

30. Here at Macoscope, we’re no Matt Damons but we’re
happy to assist you as it’s dangerous to go on any
journey alone.
Drop us a line to find out how we can build value for
your business.

31. All pictures by 20th Century Fox.