There are direct paths to a successful career. But there are plenty of indirect paths, too. Clayton M. Christensen More Quotes by Clayton M. Christensen More Quotes From Clayton M. Christensen A disruptive innovation is a technologically simple innovation in the form of a product, service, or business model that takes root in a tier of the market that is unattractive to the established leaders in an industry. Clayton M. Christensen service innovation business simple Companies, in fact, are specifically organized to under-invest in disruptive innovations! This is one reason why we often suggest that companies set up separate teams or groups to commercialize disruptive innovations. When disruptive innovations have to fight with other innovations for resources, they tend to lose out. Clayton M. Christensen why lose fight reason Diabetes is a great example whereby, giving the patient the tools, you can manage yourself very well. Clayton M. Christensen yourself great you diabetes People have an idol they want to be like and try to follow what the idols did. But when you do, you find out you're not very successful and you're not very happy. You try to copy these models, and it doesn't yield successful results. Clayton M. Christensen copy you happy people The single most important factor in our long-term happiness is the relationships we have with our family and close friends. Clayton M. Christensen friends family important happiness Management is the opportunity to help people become better people. Practiced that way, it's a magnificent profession. Clayton M. Christensen management opportunity people way There is no single right answer or path forward, but there is one right way to frame the problem. Clayton M. Christensen single problem path way An innovation will get traction only if it helps people get something that they're already doing in their lives done better. Clayton M. Christensen doing better innovation people I believe that we can, in a deliberate way, articulate the kind of people we want to become. Clayton M. Christensen want believe people way I promise my students that if they take the time to figure out their life purpose, they'll look back on it as the most important thing they discovered while at school. If they don't figure it out, they will just sail off without a rudder and get buffeted in the very rough seas of life. Clayton M. Christensen look time life school Efficiency innovations provide return on investment in 12-18 months. Empowering innovations take 5-10 years to yield a return. We have ample capital - oceans of capital - that is being reinvested into efficiency innovation. Clayton M. Christensen take efficiency investment innovation Disruption is a process, not an event, and innovations can only be disruptive relative to something else. Clayton M. Christensen event only something process The reason why it is so difficult for existing firms to capitalize on disruptive innovations is that their processes and their business model that make them good at the existing business actually make them bad at competing for the disruption. Clayton M. Christensen bad good difficult business Many think of management as cutting deals and laying people off and hiring people and buying and selling companies. That's not management, that's deal making. Management is the opportunity to help people become better people. Practiced that way, it's a magnificent profession. Clayton M. Christensen management opportunity people way The key is not to figure out what the best people are doing and try to emulate it - rather, figure out what causes people and companies to be successful. Clayton M. Christensen doing best try people Capitalists seem uninterested in capitalism, even as eager entrepreneurs can't get financing. Businesses and investors sound like the Ancient Mariner, who complained, 'Water, water everywhere - nor any drop to drink.' Clayton M. Christensen capitalism drink sound water The marginal cost of doing something 'just this once' always seems to be negligible, but the full cost will typically be much higher. Yet unconsciously, we will naturally employ the marginal-cost doctrine in our personal lives. Clayton M. Christensen personal will doing always There are three types of innovations that affect jobs and capital: empowering innovations, sustaining innovations and efficiency innovations. Clayton M. Christensen capital affect efficiency three Universities think people come up with great ideas by closing the door. The academic tenure process, where you have to publish to journals which are very narrow, stands in the way of great research. Clayton M. Christensen great you research people Whenever we have thanked these men and women for what they have done for us, without exception they have expressed gratitude for having the chance to help - because they grew as they served. Clayton M. Christensen gratitude women chance men
