Paradigm shift

Kuhn describes scientific development through work within shared frameworks and episodes of substantial framework change. Anomalies can contribute to change, but do not inevitably produce a fixed crisis-and-replacement sequence.

Kuhn's account concerns changes in the shared examples, commitments, and practices that organize scientific work. An anomaly is something a framework handles poorly; it is a reason for investigation, not an automatic announcement of revolution. Researchers may correct an observation, refine an explanation, or eventually adopt a substantially different framework.

In business and personal inquiry, paradigm shift is usually an analogy. Make the old and proposed frameworks explicit, including what each predicts and how each treats inconvenient evidence. A surprising customer behavior could reflect a narrow unmet need rather than an industry-wide transition. Compare explanations before committing to an expensive response or declaring an incumbent incapable of change.

When to use it

When anomalies in your industry are accumulating and existing explanations feel strained; when startup competitors seem to be playing a different game entirely; when fundamental assumptions about your market are being questioned; when planning long-term strategy and need to assess whether the current paradigm will hold.

How it can help

Investigate inconvenient observations, compare explanations, and identify what a proposed new framework changes. Business applications are analogies that need their own evidence.