Conversations about technology and business disruption tend to focus on commercial big bangs: products, services, or companies that upend industries and create not only market demand, but the markets themselves. But for small and mid-sized businesses, disruption can come in the form of any technology—think social media, mobile, native analytics, and the cloud—that materially changes customer engagement, operating efficiencies, or profit potential.

But disruption can work for your business, if you put the right technology into play. “The key thing is not to be seduced by the latest technology,” says journalist, author, and TED speaker Damon Brown. “It makes more sense to work backward and say, what does my business need? What connects me most with my customers? What software and/or devices enable me to do that better? And that’s it. End of discussion. If there’s a fancy new device out, don’t worry about it. If you get an Apple Watch, unless you know how it fits in your business plan, you’re going to have the same business plan, except you’ll also have an Apple Watch.”

So what do you need to consider regarding using disruption?

• finding a technology balance that fits your business needs,
• using automation to move forward,
• making smart technology choices, and
• building your “technology vision.”

Disruptive technology that complements and supports your business plan can be a game-changer—perhaps not for your industry as a whole, but certainly for your place in it. And that’s the kind of disruption that propels small and mid-sized companies to new levels of performance.

Read the second in our series of Connections to Growth guides, Disruption vs. Evolution and Finding the Right Technology, to learn how you can harness disruption to spark growth.