Topic: Clayton Christensen

When being "disruptive" is a good thing

This is a reposting of an article I wrote last week for NextBillion.net. NextBillion is a site that "brings together business leaders, social entrepreneurs, NGOs, policy makers, and academics who want to explore the ...READ»

Think Fast. Learn Faster.

The first three roles in The Ten Faces of Innovation are about learning. Because one crucial ingredient in a culture of innovation is being able to LEARN faster that the competition. In Clayton Christensen's brilliant Innovator's ...READ»

Management by numbers

Plans, projections, decisions, debates, results – all these and many more depend on the provision and calculation of outcomes (forecast or achieved) measured in monetary terms. However, very few managers have paused to consider ...READ»

10 Things You Didn't Know About Women

Ten things you didn't know about women, and a review of Clay Christensen's new book.READ»

The Industrialized Revolution

Clay Christensen's idea of "disruptive innovation" made him the unintended mascot of the dotcom boom. So what's he thinking now?READ»

What Customers Want

“With few exceptions, every job people need or want to do has a social, a functional, and an emotional dimension. If marketers understand each of these dimensions, then they can design a product that's precisely targeted to the job. ...READ»

Small + Disruptive = Powerful

I live a stone's throw from Apple headquarters in Cupertino, in the heart of Silicon Valley. Apple is hiring. But it's not the Apples, Oracles, Intels or Ciscos that make the economy hum here. "Historically, it is start-ups, not ...READ»

The Innovator's Solution

Seagate Technology, one of the oldest firms in the disk-drive industry, has developed a set of five operating principles that allows it to out-innovate even the most nimble young competitor. The result: an innovator that poses a dilemma for its rivals.READ»

Corporate Politics - The Elephant in the Room

Corporate politics are everywhere. They inflict every company. In fact, you'd be hard put to find a senior manager out there who has completely avoided the fray. Depending how far you make it up the corporate ladder, you'll ...READ»

Herman Miller's Leap of Faith

Like lots of troubled companies before it, Herman Miller slashed and burned--people, facilities, businesses. But at the same time, it took a deep breath and made a big bet on the future.READ»

Pocket Professors

Ever wonder how much money business speakers such as Jim Collins, Tom Peters, and Michael Porter pull down each time they take the stage? Workforce Management has compiled a handy chart. Here are the highlights: Clayton ...READ»

Thought Leaders: The Next 30

So many people are interested in who else is on this list and where they rank that I thought it would be helpful to share with you the next 30. So here they are: 21. Jeffrey Pfeffer 22. Philip Kotler 23. Robert C. Merton 24. C.K. ...READ»

Living Dangerously - Issue 38

"Don't wait for a distant revolution -- reinvent everyday life here and now!"READ»

Howard Dean's Start-up Syndrome

Presidential candidate Howard Dean is hot right now. He's just got one problem: How can he transform a sudden burst of success into long-term momentum (Hmmm, that sounds familiar)? Anyhow, that's the question posed in a great New ...READ»

The World Is <em>Their</em> R&D Lab

Innovation middlemen try to put inventors and businesses together. It's a way for companies to find great ideas outside their own R&D labs.READ»

Is That an Umbrella or a Power Plant?

The term “disruptive innovation” is quickly joining the list of meaningless buzzwords that companies use to hype their latest products. Marketing managers seem to use it to describe anything new, along with “breakthrough” ...READ»

Strategic Reading

A reading list that focuses on Internet strategy.READ»

Ideas Are Not Enough

Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration. Thomas Edison said it nearly a century ago. Few listened. We've been researchers in the field of innovation for several years now. We have shelves full of books on the topic. ...READ»

Lessons on Innovation From Microsoft

There are plenty of internal reasons why Microsoft's record of innovation is so lackluster. Not to mince words, Bill Gates's researchers have placed a bunch of expensive bets on technologies that haven't panned out. But the company's failure also points to three much bigger lessons about innovation.READ»

Three Business Models the $38 Billion Newspaper Industry Could Copy

Three ideas the $38 billion newspaper industry could copy to buoy its business.READ»

• Made to Stick: Stop Solving Your Problems

Why Smart Companies Do Dumb Things

My last column on the benefits of failure prompted one reader to ask whether the converse is true: "do successful companies sow the seeds of their own destruction?" Given that the average lifespan of a top 500 company in the U.S. is ...READ»

Fast Company Library

Books previously featured in Fast CompanyREAD»

What Money Can't Buy

Each year, Microsoft spends more than $6 billion on R&D. And for all that money, it gets...digital toilets and SPOT Watches. Is there a problem here?READ»

Turnaround Artists

Two seasoned renewal strategists offer a prescription for the corporate blahs. Carter Pate and Harlan Platt's medicine doesn't taste too good, but it may help cure what ails you.READ»

Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Innovation* But Were Afraid To Ask

This is way too long for a blog, but what the heck... “There is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, more dangerous to manage than the creation of a new system”- Machiavelli (1469-1527) One of the ...READ»