What MBA or business analyst has not read, "The Innovator's Dilemma"? This is a tour de force in management thinking. It is a clear narrative that has driven firms around the globe to think differently about competition and change. It does not matter that some business historians have quibbled with some of the details. It forced every reader to think about the implications of a steady-as-you-go status quo strategy. I have enjoyed all of his writing and it has stood the test of time.
Clayton Christensen died today, and we lost a great thinker, but more importantly, a great person who can be held up as living a full, thoughtful life focused on practical research and what can be done for others. His last book, 'The Prosperity Paradox" centered on how innovation could lift nations out of poverty.
I think the WSJ obituary had the best review of the man,
When one of his children was accused of pushing another student at school, Dr. Christensen convened a family meeting. “The brand is that the Christensens are known for kindness,” he said.
He expected that brand to serve him well in the afterlife. “When I pass on and have my interview with God, he is not going to say, ‘Oh my gosh, Clay Christensen, you were a famous professor at H.B.S.,’” Dr. Christensen told the Journal in a 2016 interview. “He’s going to say…‘Can we just talk about the individual people you helped become better people?…Can we talk about what you did to help [your children] become wonderful people?’”
I drive past Innosight, the consulting business he started, on the way to Boston every day and I will remember what it means to be innovative and have a brand of kindness.
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