It arrives uninvited. Usually on a Saturday afternoon when you’re least expecting it.

And the instinct in that first moment is always the same:

✓ Fix it
✓ Contain it
✓ Get back to where you were as fast as possible

But getting back to where you were is rarely the right destination.

In 2017, I received an email that forced a significant pivot in one of our most established markets. At the time all I could see was the problem:

16 franchisees without the support structure they had depended on for years.

What I couldn’t see yet was what the disruption was actually building.

Franchisees who had relied on a developer to secure contracts had to learn to secure their own in a different process. Franchisees who had leaned on external support had to solely develop their own relationships with their customers. The safety net was gone and they discovered they didn’t need it the way they thought they did.

Disruption has a way of revealing capacity that comfort keeps hidden.

The question isn’t how fast you can get back to normal. It’s whether you’re willing to let the disruption finish what it started.