The Innovator's Dilemma
The Revolutionary Book That Will Change the Way You Do Business
Book - 2003
In this revolutionary bestseller, Harvard professor Clayton M. Christensen says outstanding companies can do everything right and still lose their market leadership -- or worse, disappear completely. And he not only proves what he says, he tells others how to avoid a similar fate. Focusing on "disruptive technology" -- the Honda Super Cub, Intel's 8088 processor, or the hydraulic excavator, for example -- Christensen shows why most companies miss "the next great wave." Whether in electronics or retailing, a successful company with established products will get pushed aside unless managers know when to abandon traditional business practices. Using the lessons of successes and failures from leading companies, The Innovator's Dilemma presents a set of rules for capitalizing on the phenomenon of disruptive innovation. Find out: When it is right not to listen to customers. When to invest in developing lower-performance products that promise lower margins. When to pursue small markets at the expense of seemingly larger and more lucrative ones. Sharp, cogent, and provocative, The Innovator's Dilemma is one of the most talked-about books of our time -- and one no savvy manager or entrepreneur should be without.
Publisher:
New York : HarperBusiness Essentials, 2003.
ISBN:
9780060521998
0060521996
0060521996
Characteristics:
xxxii, 286 pages :,illustrations ;,21 cm.



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Add a CommentA beautiful book for the simplicity of its central thesis, that organizations can fail to anticipate disruptive innovation precisely because they are structurally incapable of being first movers (or even early movers). Every aspect of a company is geared toward its existing markets, from the margins it find acceptable, to its distribution channels, to the application of new technology. A company instinctively queries its existing customers about their goals and values. If something (new technology, a new process) falls outside of customer responses, you can bet it will consistently receive short shrift from the company. That's where disruptive innovation comes in. Disruptive technology is defined by its i) simplicity, ii) lower cost and iii) lack of immediate applicability for the main market in question. Over time, as the technology develops and its rate of improvement in the relevant metric(s) exceeds the rate required by customers in the larger market, the applicability of the disruptive technology rises, eventually costing entrenched companies market share and even their very existence.