The exponential development rate of technology transforms products and services, disrupts industries. Singularity University uses a “6D Framework” to put this into context. This framework is explained in their recently published free e-book: The Exponential Leader´s Guide to Achieving 10X Growth:

Technology is developing at exponential rates, therefore transforming products and services and disrupting industries. Our “6Ds” framework helps put these changes—and resulting opportunities—into context.

Exponential leaders use the 6 Ds as a technological road map to predict where technologies are going and when to capitalize on the opportunities. This framework gives them a significant advantage over competitors.

DIGITIZATION:
We can turn every product or service into “1’s and 0’s.” Once a technology is digitized, it becomes an information science, and so we can use computers to manage it.

DECEPTION:
Exponential growth is hard to spot. At the beginning of most exponentially advancing environments, the early stages of development are almost imperceptible. For example, when .01doubles to 0.2 it still all looks like 0.

DISRUPTION:
Exponential technologies can render the previous paradigm obsolete, outperforming it in both effectiveness and cost. For example, in our numerical example, once we reach “1,” the exponential increase quickly becomes disruptive—we’re at 1 billion just 30 doublings later.

DEMATERIALISM:
Items once large and unwieldy now fit easily into our pockets. The miniaturization of sensors paired with digitization has transformed tangible “things” like high-resolution video cameras and GPS systems into digital apps on our smartphones.

DEMONETIZATION:
Through the dematerialism process, we can scale these apps and essentially demonetize them, since the cost of duplicating and distributing software is essentially zero.

DEMOCRATIZED:
Products, services, and information previously available to a privileged few are now accessible by an ever-increasing percentage of the global population. Anyone with a smartphone and an internet connection has the same communications capabilities and access to the same exact platforms as a billionaire.