Welcome back and Happy New 2015. We are starting the year off with a new way of looking at things, thanks to our guest blogger for the week, Pauline Tarrant, who writes a review on the Innovator’s Dilemma.
The Innovator’s Dilemma
Don’t be misled by the title – innovators are not just the inventors and mad scientists of this world, we are all innovators in our own way changing and adapting to the world around us.
This book is designed to help us understand two simple questions: ‘why is success so difficult to maintain?’ and ‘is successful innovation as difficult to predict as we think?’
It is written in quite an academic manner with much research and data behind all of the statements and findings. For those short on time, the introduction adequately outlines Christensen’s thoughts on his two questions and you could just leave it there. However if you want to fully understand his concepts, it is worth reading on.
One aspect I particularly liked was Christiansen’s encouragement to become a fellow researcher and test his theories; he appears keen to find the ‘outliers’ so he can fully understand the limits of his ideas and identify areas for improvement.
Although the book was first published in 2000 the concept of disruptive technology is now even more relevant today. The suggestions and recommendations for modern business is that the basics will not help you sustain success.
- You cannot obtain masses of market research data on emerging markets. Successful organisations often depend on their most profitable (current) customers as the small emerging markets are too small to sustain their growth.
- The small innovators accept lower profits, are more nimble and willing to exploit small opportunities.
- Large companies look for large opportunities as this is what they need to sustain growth.
All of these are reasons why market leaders fall from grace.
The disruption within the world today impacts all aspects of our lives, from how we now hail a taxi in the advent of Uber to how we continue our education with the flexibility and latest in learning via MOOCs.
I would recommend this book not just to those who will find it useful in business but those who want to understand how the world works.
If you would like to check out other reviews from Pauline, you can read her reviews on Give and Take, the Outliers, and Eat the Frog
Want to buy the book? Check this link out here:
Thanks Pauline, I think we can all learn from looking at things through innovative eyes.
I will be back next week, and in the meantime, feel free to get in contact with any suggestions for new book reviews.
Ps. Did you read my last blog on Plain English and respect: Seth’s view?
About Pauline Tarrant:
Pauline has a passion for people performance and spent her entire working life helping organisations, teams and individuals perform at their best. Her expertise in the HR technology space enables Pauline Tarrant Consulting to operate as a trusted partner to the HR team to explore how to get the best from existing technology and explore new solutions that offer best-fit improvements to their business.
