"I t’s the end of the world as we know it. " One could say those prophetic REM lyrics were reverberating through the halls of the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal last September when CERC members gathered there for their 2018 annual conference. The conference theme revolved around disruption – Mastering Mobility in a World of Disruption – and the message was loud and clear: in relocation, as in many industries, it truly is the end of the world as we know it. Whether it’s technology, the new shared economy, or another trend still in the making, things are changing at a dizzying pace, and the general consensus is that one can either jump along for the ride – or ignore it and end up on the sidelines. Hitting home this very important message was Jim Harris, a disruption expert and regular speaker on the topic. Delivering the keynote address at the Sept. 16-18 CERC gathering, Harris provided a jaw-dropping case study showing how just one innova- tion – the introduction of an autonomous vehicle – can shrink thousands of businesses and industries further downstream across multiple industries. “The cascading implications are profound,” said Harris, pointing out that insurance companies, personal injury lawyers (fewer acci- dents) and even radio stations could find their markets drying up. Radio stations, in case you’re wondering, because people will soon be able to work in their cars and won’t be listening to the ubiqui- tous morning talk shows to fill their time as they drive. “Change goes slowly for a long time, and then rises exponentially, [and many] don’t understand how profound exponential change is,” stressed Harris. “The biggest obstacle to innovation in large companies 2018 CERC CONFERENCE is the inability to catch critical signals or developments and to act on them. What we need to do is see disruption before it happens.” FUTURE FOCUS This topic was further developed during the conference’s roundtable discussion. As Carolyn Hammer, senior manager, Human Capital, Deloitte, noted, “We need to work on our business versus working in our business – it’s so easy to just do the ‘day to day’ rather than thinking about something bigger, about our future.” Peggy Smith, president and CEO, Worldwide ERC, concurred, adding “I worry that we will miss the next ‘thing’, not because we will have tried and failed, but because we’re so busy in our own swim lines that we’ve forgotten that we’ve gotten out of the pool and into the ocean.” By Roma Ihnatowycz ADAPTING TO DISRUPTION Keynote speaker Jim Harris enlightened CERC members on the broad impact of disruption 20 PERSPECTIVES Winter 2018