The Disruptive Voice

Five years ago, Darius Shahida, a member of the HBS Class of 2019, joined us in the podcast studio to discuss how Butterfly Network, a disruptive startup where he was employed as Chief Growth Officer, was working to revolutionize the ultrasound industry. Now, as the company's Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Business Development Officer, he joins his former BSSE professor, Derek van Bever, to reflect on Butterfly Network's entrepreneurial journey over the last half decade. Since Darius was last on the podcast, the company has gone public; has successfully commercialized the world's first semiconductor-based, whole-body, single-probe digital ultrasound device; has introduced its second generation device, Butterfly iQ+, along with new advances on the AI and software side of the business; and Butterfly has significantly expanded its market of users, with a presence in over 100 countries through commercial sales or global health deployments. In this conversation, Darius highlights these developments and also reflects on how the BSSE frameworks have helped to inform the company's emergent strategy over the years. As a hybrid disruptor - both a low end and a new market disruption - Butterfly Network's growth is fascinating to observe. Listen to learn about the company's enabling technology and disruptive business model, the promise of artificial intelligence, the different types of Butterfly customers (and the ramifications of that for strategy, particularly when competing against non-consumption), the company's vision for the future of ultrasound, and more!

In this episode, Amy Edmondson, sharing insights from her new book, Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, reminds listeners, "The most successful among us have not failed less often than the rest of us. They've failed more often – right kind of wrong failures." Hosted by Scott Anthony, the two engage in a fascinating conversation covering a myriad of topics, including the origin of the idea of psychological safety; the different types of failures, and why they matter; parallels between innovation and riding a bike; and the "Sliding Doors" moments in our lives. Amy also reflects on the distinction between environments where one is there to learn versus perform; the emotional challenges of innovation; right kind of wrong in the context of parenting; and the process that she undertook in writing the book, to cite but a few examples. We're all going to get things wrong in our professional and personal lives, but resilience and learning through intelligent failures is an important part of the journey. Listen to learn more! 

The promise of artificial intelligence is immense and companies that view AI as an enabler of corporate transformation can reap potentially enormous benefits in terms of both value creation and growth. In this panel discussion, Freddy Solis hosts his Innosight colleague and co-leader in the company's global AI practice, Shari Parvarandeh, along with renowned thought leaders in management and information systems, and co-authors of the forthcoming book, Fusion Strategy, Vijay Govindarajan and Venkat Venkatraman, for a wide-reaching discussion on artificial intelligence and its implications for companies. Their conversation spans the genesis and current state of AI in business; its transformative impact across industries; blockers and enablers of adoption; different types of models and use cases; and when to build, buy, or partner, to cite but a few examples. Companies that stand to benefit from the vast opportunities that AI presents in virtually every industry will be those that act boldly and ahead of the curve. Listen to learn more!    Further information on Fusion Strategy can be found here: https://fusion.tuck.dartmouth.edu Innosight's e-book, Leading Into The Age Of AI, can be found here: https://www.innosight.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Innosight_Leading-into-the-Age-of-AI.pdf    

Higher education has long been on an unsustainable trajectory, with rising costs - and subsequent debt passed on to students - hindering the ability of many to get ahead. In this episode of The Disruptive Voice, education author and researcher, Michael Horn, hosts fellow Harvard Business School alumnus Scott Pulsipher, President of Western Governors University (WGU). Among many topics, the two discuss how the accredited, non-profit university is disrupting traditional models of higher education through its online, competency-based model. A long-time friend of Clayton Christensen's, Scott shares how Clay's frameworks have been instrumental to his thinking and also how Clay's work helped to inform WGU's unique model, even before Scott became President. With a strong focus on serving its students, the majority of whom haven't been well served or served at all by traditional models of learning, along with an alumni base of over 340,000 graduates, Western Governors University is a prime example of Disruptive Innovation as a powerful force for democratizing access and opportunity.

Last June, Efosa Ojomo and Sandy Sanchez were on the podcast to discuss the process of market creation - discovery, distribution, and democratization - and specifically, as it applied to the creation of a market for solar energy in Nigeria. In this new episode, they return to the recording studio to share with us specific examples of four companies that are getting it right. SunFi, co-founded by HBS alumnus Tomiwa Igun, highlights successful employment of an emergent rather than deliberate strategy; Steamaco illustrates benefits drawn from a clear understanding of customers' Jobs To Be Done; Husk Power Systems exemplifies the strength of pull (as opposed to push) strategies in emerging markets; and Auxano is a company now firmly in the midst of the important distribution phase of the market creation process. There are lessons to be learned from all four of these examples, businesses that to-date have been successful in addressing barriers to market creation in the energy sector in Nigeria. In this conversation, Efosa and Sandy reflect on these learnings. Of further note is that, for listeners wanting to learn more, the duo have also recently published a paper entitled, Accelerating The Adoption of Solar Energy in Nigeria: A Market-Creation Strategy. As Efosa says, “People don't want solar. People want progress.” With this in mind, real advancements can be made towards reaching the last stage of the market creation process - democratization, and in this case democratizing access to electricity in Nigeria and beyond.  

Arthur Brooks teaches a popular course at Harvard Business School called “Leadership and Happiness.” One important underpinning of the course is that science can help us to better understand what will actually make us happier – and Arthur has worked hard to incorporate these concepts into his own life. Recently, he teamed up with Oprah Winfrey to write "Build The Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier." In those pages, they consider a number of thought-provoking questions, including “How can we mobilize our lives toward greater happiness? How do we translate ideas about happiness into action? And how do we take control of our present and our future?” In this episode, Arthur joins host Karen Dillon – co-author with Clayton Christensen of “How Will You Measure Your Life?” – to dive into these questions. Throughout this wide-ranging conversation, he considers common misconceptions about happiness, the importance of emotional self-management, and how we can all change our habits to truly become happier. Relatedly, they discuss strategies that can be employed to become more metacognitive, the four pillars of happiness, and the neurochemical cascade of falling in love, to name but a few of the many conversation highlights. Arthur also reflects on the fact that so much of the knowledge that is shared in “Build The Life You Want” is practical and yet relatively unknown. Listen to learn more about both the art and science of becoming happier!       

The Business Model Framework draws an important distinction between a company's Priorities (that is, its Value Proposition and Profit Formula) and its Capabilities. Regarding the latter, which are more effective drivers of corporate innovation – Processes or Resources? The answer to this question, of course, depends on an organization's circumstances and strategic goals. Specifically, in circumstances where companies are pursuing growth via sustaining opportunities, a company's Processes are key. However, in circumstances where companies are pursuing potentially disruptive opportunities, their Resources - and particularly senior leadership - are crucial. In this episode, Robyn Bolton brings these concepts to life through the stories of two companies working to build disruptive growth engines, highlighting the actions of senior executives at each firm, one of which was ultimately successful while the other faltered and failed in these attempts. In conversation with host Katie Zandbergen, Robyn shares insights on several topics related to the role of senior leaders, including the necessity of standing astride the interfaces of mainstream and disruptive growth businesses; the ability to sense when circumstances are changing; the importance of adjusting metrics and incentives to create space for employees to spot disruptive opportunities; and the need (and challenge) to act when business is good rather than during difficult times. As Robyn points out, if you want different results, then you need to do things differently - and this often means tackling the difficult task of setting aside processes that drive sustaining innovation, at least in some parts of the business, and leaning more on a company's resources, including its senior leadership, to play a crucial role in the management of disruptive growth initiatives.  

"In our view, the crux of the problem is that investments in different types of innovation affect economies (and companies) in very different ways – but are evaluated using the same (flawed) metrics. Specifically, financial markets – and companies themselves – use assessment metrics that make innovations that eliminate jobs more attractive than those that create jobs.” This quote comes from the 2014 HBR article that Clayton Christensen and Derek van Bever co-authored, entitled The Capitalist's Dilemma. As you'll hear in this conversation, the article is as relevant today as it was when it was first published nearly a decade ago. In this episode – originally recorded as part of Aidan McCullen's three month series on The Innovation Show dedicated to Clay's life and work - Derek joins Aidan to discuss a number of topics related to the article's main theme, that being the assertion that “the tools we use to guide our investments are blind to the best opportunities for creating new jobs and new markets.” For instance, Derek considers how our behavior, in interacting with metrics, can often lead to unfortunate consequences; the pull of established markets; the different types of innovation (performance-improving, efficiency, and market-creating) and their respective impacts on growth; the scarcity of long-term investors; and the challenges faced by corporate innovators, to cite but a few examples. Also discussed are potential solutions to the capitalist's dilemma, along with the observation that if people understand the dilemma, they are then better equipped to respond to the challenges that it presents. 

Clayton Christensen, in a 2012 Tedx Talk, while drawing on insights from How Will You Measure Your Life, said, "The way we invest our time and energy and talents (sometimes) causes us to implement a strategy that we wouldn't at all plan to pursue." Now, his co-author on that book, Karen Dillon, has partnered with Rob Cross to write The Microstress Effect: How Little Things Pile Up And Create Big Problems - And What To Do About It, which she views as a sort of companion book to How Will You Measure Your Life. Specifically, while her work with Clay sets forth important frameworks for thinking about the decisions that we make in our lives, including the longer term consequences of our choices, The Microstress Effect helps readers to understand why and how we make those decisions, while also providing concrete tools for living intentionally. There is certainly a hidden but very real toll resulting from the accumulation of small moments of stress in our lives. However, if we recognize these microstresses - those that drain our capacity to manage work and life; those that deplete our emotional reserves; and those that challenge our identities - we can then take deliberate actions to navigate the obstacle course of those stresses, leading to increased resilience and overall happier lives. In this conversation, hosted by Katie Zandbergen, Rob and Karen not only delve into the concept of microstress but also discuss a number of antidotes, including finding purpose, the power of living a multidimensional life, the importance of authentic and diverse connections, and more that can be done to proactively foster resiliency and improve well-being.

Nigeria is home to the largest energy deficit in the world. What can be done to address the striking level of energy poverty in the country? Clayton Christensen used to say that good theory helps us to explain the world but that great theory helps us to transform it. With this in mind, co-author with Clay of The Prosperity Paradox, Efosa Ojomo, joins host Sandy Sanchez to consider the application of the frameworks to the energy sector in Nigeria, using them as lenses through which to assess the adoption – or lack thereof – of solar energy in the country. Solutions to many of the current energy sector challenges in Nigeria lie in the process of market creation, which Efosa outlines as discovery, distribution, and democratization. Currently, too many attempt to jump from the discovery phase directly to democratization, wanting to push modular energy solutions out to the population but without first understanding the process by which markets are created or the context in which the solutions may be absorbed. With a better grasp of Nigerians' Jobs To Be Done (e.g. "How is this energy going to power your life?"), those in the energy sector can establish value-add solutions and business models that will work for the adoption of solar energy, such that people will want to pull the solutions into their lives, creating new energy markets along the way. The distribution phase is crucial to this process, as it is in this phase where infrastructure is built, where trust is established, where discoveries are made profitable, and where democratization becomes possible. In other words, theory can help us to better understand how to get crucial solar energy infrastructure to as many people as possible, building a stable bridge between discovery and democratization. Listen to learn more about the process and potential of market creating innovations and, in this instance, how it's applied to the acceleration of solar energy adoption in Nigeria.

Radiology touches around 80% of all hospital and health system visits, impacting nearly every specialty in medicine. However, the incumbent radiology IT system infrastructure places the promise and power of AI out of reach for practitioners. Though radiology has historically been on the cutting edge of technological advancements in medicine, e.g. in terms of digitization, radiology is now stuck in a technological gridlock, a situation in which each modular component of the tech stack works well enough but where the system as a whole is failing to sufficiently support physicians, who are experiencing high levels of burnout, and their patients. Working to enhance both the quantity and quality of work that radiologists can deliver, Sirona Medical is driving the shift away from modular gridlock to an interdependent system, employing AI to amplify the value of radiology to downstream care. In this episode, Cameron Andrews, Founder & CEO of Sirona Medical, joins Spencer Christensen to discuss the cloud-native unified workflow software they're working to build, along with its applications. The two consider the history of radiology; the challenges and opportunities of both the present day and on the healthcare horizon; how Sirona Medical is reimagining the system's underlying architecture; and more. Cameron believes that Modularity Theory is going to be the most important business framework in healthcare over the next decade. Listen to learn more about why and how he and his team at Sirona Medical are committed to elevating the field of radiology! 

In this episode, Craig Mackintosh, Head of User Experience Research at LinkedIn, reflects on how the Jobs To Be Done framework has been used at the company to provide strategic focus. He joins David Duncan, co-author with Clayton Christensen on Competing Against Luck and author of The Secret Lives of Customers, to discuss how the team at LinkedIn has drawn on Jobs Theory to unlock innovation through a better understanding of the functional, social, and emotional Jobs had by its members and customers. In using the Jobs To Be Done framework, LinkedIn has been able to take steps towards the implementation of a common language across its many teams, has made more intentional choices around which Jobs they're solving for and why, and has found increased success in both articulating LinkedIn's value to its customers and in capturing opportunities for growth and innovation. Listen to learn more about the pilot studies that were undertaken; some of the Jobs that were uncovered in asking, “Why do people post on LinkedIn?”; how the team got buy-in from employees and incorporated Jobs into the company's culture; and the challenges and opportunities that presented themselves along the way.

Christina Wallace wrote The Portfolio Life: How To Future-Proof Your Career, Avoid Burnout, and Build a Life Bigger Than Your Business Card, in part, to explain the zig zagging path of her own life, a trajectory that has been markedly different than the more linear and predefined paths often followed by those in earlier generations. The accelerating pace of change, along with one societal disruption after the next, has resulted in ever more uncertainty about what the future holds and translates into the need for an emergent rather than a deliberate strategy for one's life. The beauty of the model presented in The Portfolio Life is that it provides readers with a practical guide on how to be more intentional and strategic about the actions we take, particularly during times of transition, and it allows us to rebalance allocations when our needs inevitably change. In this conversation, hosted by Katie Zandbergen, Christina reflects on parallels between The Portfolio Life and How Will You Measure Your Life; the importance of having an identity separate from your job title; our oftentimes flawed metrics of success; why she thinks of herself as a human Venn diagram, and the value that can be found at the intersection of those overlapping circles; the promise of diagonal thinking; and more. Listen to learn about how practitioners of The Portfolio Life model gain optionality, flexibility, and diversification in their lives, resulting in greater stability in the face of the many unknowns and changing circumstances that we all will face in navigating the waters – both personal and professional – of our lives.

After a shocking accident left Rebecca Fogg with a partially amputated hand, she found herself faced with the sudden and daunting challenge of recovering, both physically and psychologically, from the trauma. Though her background at the time was not in medicine, she hired – in the language of the Jobs To Be Done framework – the pursuit of scientific knowledge to help heal and to make progress in her life. That search for knowledge, intertwined with her personal experiences on the journey to recovery, inspired Becca to write Beautiful Trauma: An Explosion, An Obsession, And A New Lease on Life. Over the last decade, Becca has worked at the intersection of business innovation and healthcare delivery. In this conversation, hosted by Ann Somers Hogg, she shares the story of Beautiful Trauma and also delves into what can be learned from the ordeal, in terms of insights for healthcare innovators. The two discuss health as being the product of many drivers, therefore necessitating the implementation of collaborative initiatives across sectors, along with system engagement at both the level of communities and the individual. Becca provides a number of great examples of successful cross-sector integration initiatives, in both the United States and England, and also considers takeaways from these programs for the broader healthcare ecosystem. Drawing on her lived experience of trauma, this insightful conversation includes Becca's reflections on opportunities for innovation in healthcare; the challenges of navigating the healthcare system when we have the least capacity to do so; our sometimes misguided perceptions of resilience; different coping mechanisms; the importance of formal and informal support systems; and so much more!

Currently, over 75% of American households don't have access to high quality, affordable, and unbiased financial advice. Anders Jones co-founded Facet in order to make these financial planning services available to a large population of people who don't qualify to receive them under existing incumbent business models. In other words, Facet is a prime example of a new market disruption, with the company largely competing against the non-consumption of financial advice. Taking this approach, however, wasn't how the Facet story began when it initially entered the market, which exemplifies the emergent strategy utilized by the company that allowed for Facet's pivot to its current strategy. In this conversation, hosted by Chris Calder, Anders reflects on how he's using the frameworks to build and scale his enterprise, including the enabling technology that, paired with Facet's business model, allows the company to profitably serve customers who are uninteresting to incumbents in the space. The two also discuss where Anders intends to take Facet in the future, redefining financial planning and advice and working to more fully integrate wealth management into their customers' daily lives. Listen to learn more about how Facet is creating a new market and also changing the discussion around what it means to work with a financial advisor - a great example of Clay's theories in action!

In his book, Undisruptable: A Mindset of Permanent Reinvention for Individuals, Organizations, and Life, Aidan McCullen writes about how, centuries ago, sailors would set out to sea with maps labelled with the Latin words hic sun dracones - here be dragons - which meant that they didn't know much - if anything - about the uncharted waters and unexplored lands that awaited them. In today's volatile and uncertain world, there are parallels to be drawn between the odysseys of past and present. There are also strategies that can be employed, both by corporations and by individuals, to thrive amidst challenging circumstances, and they center on the intentional development of a mindset of permanent reinvention. Aidan himself exemplifies this mindset, having built capabilities as a professional rugby player, a digital media specialist, an innovation and change consultant, a professor at Trinity College Dublin, and host of The Innovation Show podcast, where he's in the midst of a three month series dedicated to the life, work, and theories of Clayton Christensen. In this Disruptive Voice episode, he joins Katie Zandbergen to discuss the experience of putting the series together, including not only re-reading all of Clay's books but also having in-depth conversations with his co-authors; the necessity of building capabilities before we need them; lessons we can learn from immortal jellyfish; insights gleaned from making the time to read eclectically; finding assets in ashes; and, above all, the importance of facing the dragons in our lives and of always becoming - the concept of permanent reinvention.   

In the introduction of The Innovator's Dilemma, first published in 1997, Clayton Christensen wrote that the book "is about well-managed companies that have their competitive antennae up, listen astutely to their customers, invest aggressively in new technologies, and yet still lose market dominance." Years later, the dilemma is as relevant and as challenging as ever. In this episode of The Disruptive Voice, host and guest take a fascinating and deep dive into the book - and they do so as the first in a series of episodes on The Innovation Show that are dedicated to the life, work, and theories of Clayton Christensen. Specifically, host of The Innovation Show, Aidan McCullen, has kindly supported the re-release of his inspiring conversation with Clay's son, CEO & Managing Partner at Rose Park Advisors, Matt Christensen. Drawing on insights from Disruption Theory, along with a number of other theories developed by Clay and his collaborators over the years, listen to learn more about how, in Aidan's words, executives can simultaneously do what's right for the near-term health of their established businesses while also focusing adequate resources on the innovations that could ultimately lead to their downfalls - The Innovator's Dilemma! 

Jobs Theory, when correctly applied, has the potential to be a huge unlock for organizations that have yet to realize the full value from their agile transformations. In order to benefit from the full potential of the Jobs To Be Done framework, a systems lens is required in its application. In this episode, Innosight's Alasdair Trotter joins host Katie Zandbergen to discuss the challenges and opportunities that arise when trying to build more customer-centric and agile organizations. The conversation covers many of the ways in which Jobs Theory can be used to strengthen different aspects of the enterprise operating model, from strategy development to modern product and portfolio management. The discussion also includes a variety of insights about how Jobs Theory can bring more focus to enterprise strategy, overcome solution bias when developing and managing products, and improve the prioritization of strategy goals, as well as specific features. In short, listen to this insightful conversation to learn more about Jobs Theory as a powerful tool for addressing many of the challenges faced by modern product organizations!

In an earlier episode of The Disruptive Voice, Pontus Sirén discussed the Jobs methodology and how it relates to customer centricity. Companies exist to address customer problems, i.e. their Jobs To Be Done – and the first critical step for any innovator is to identify a good problem to solve. In this episode, Pontus' Innosight colleague, Shari Parvarandeh, joins him to not only delve deeper into the importance of having a customer-centric approach but also to highlight that as Jobs arise in the lives of customers, they are compelled to make trade-off decisions. While the Jobs methodology enables companies to more deeply understand the progress that customers are trying to make, trade-off analysis enables them to systematically develop customer Jobs-centric solutions. Of further note is that, for companies, trade-offs are the linchpin of strategy, and they must constantly innovate to develop new and distinctive trade-off equations. Mastering this discipline is indispensable because, in the long run, companies succeed by continuously developing differentiated solutions with compelling trade-offs. Drawing on a number of real world examples to bring these ideas to life, this conversation sheds new light on how, through changing from a mindset of customer centricity to one of customers' Jobs centricity, companies can innovate in more predictable and systematic ways.

This is a true story of one man, his four children, four mentors, and five skills. It began when Bob Moesta's now-grown children moved out of the family home. Bob and his wife decided to clean things out a bit and, during that process, in their attic, Bob came across eight hundred and forty-seven notebooks containing information on everything that he had worked on throughout his career! As he started to read through the notebooks it became clear that he had a great deal of information to share, wisdom gained over the years from his experiences working alongside his four mentors. Out of that attic discovery was born Bob's new book, "Learning To Build: The Five Bedrock Skills of Innovators and Entrepreneurs". The book is dedicated to his mentors as follows: "To my mentors: Drs. Clayton Christensen, Genichi Taguchi, W. Edwards Deming, and Willie Hobbs Moore, who shared their knowledge with me so that I could pay it forward." In this episode, Bob joins host Katie Zandbergen to discuss the five fundamental skills of innovators and entrepreneurs, gleaned from his decades working as an innovative builder, teacher, and entrepreneur. He also reflects on his friendship with Clay and the importance of mentors; the power of mindset change; projects that he's currently working on; and why people should "hire" his new book. Above all, Bob is focused on paying it forward and helping others to make progress in their lives. Listen to learn more!

Many listeners will know that Clay had a homemade “Anomalies Wanted” sign in his office at Harvard Business School – it was the backbone of his approach to research and theory building, as he worked to strengthen and refine his frameworks over the years. Many past guests on this podcast, when asked about what made Clay such a powerful thinker and teacher, responded saying that he was humble, that he was open to learning from everyone, and that he was always on the lookout for anomalies. Specifically, Clay viewed anomalies not as threats to the viability or applicability of his work but – quite the opposite – as presenting opportunities to learn and to improve the frameworks. In this episode, you'll hear from a number of people who were near and dear to Clay, all of whom share their reflections and insights on the theme of "Anomalies Wanted." Thank you to the following individuals for their participation in this 100th episode project: Derek van Bever, Tom Bartman, Cliff Maxwell, Jon Palmer, Karen Dillon, Bob Moesta, Michael Horn, Max Wessel, Scott Anthony, and Ann Christensen. Thank you also to Tracy Kim Horn for getting this podcast off the ground back in 2016; to Craig McDonald for his work behind the scenes, overseeing the recording sessions; to our many wonderful guests and hosts; to our listeners, for tuning in and for sharing The Disruptive Voice with others; and, of course, to Clay, who continues to inspire us. We look forward to the next 100 episodes and to the discovery of those anomalies that we'll undoubtedly uncover along the way. If you have anomalies to share with us, please do reach out! Anomalies Wanted.  

When you receive a brochure in the mail from your local symphony or visit a website for your regional orchestra, what do you typically see? You're very likely going to read flowery language about the beauty of the art and the skill of the artists, accompanied by photos of the conductor and the musicians on the stage. You probably won't see the audience or how the experience might impact them. The arts sector, however, is in the midst of an audience crisis – and the time has come for arts organizations to stop ignoring their customers. In this episode, The Christensen Institute's Ruth Hartt, who spent 17 years as an opera singer, joins host Katie Zandbergen to discuss how the Jobs To Be Done framework can be used as an effective tool by arts organizations, helping them to better engage with and grow their audiences. While many in the arts world have been operating under the comfortable assumption that they've nailed customer motivation, believing that “Help me to experience art performed at its highest level” is the primary motivator for ticket purchases, this approach fails to truly understand customers' struggling moments and the reasons why they may hire an orchestral performance or an evening out at the opera. Armed with techniques and insights drawn from Jobs Theory, arts organizations can successfully shift from simply trying to push tickets to actually helping their customers and their communities through the arts-focused experiences that they provide. Listen to learn more about the opportunities for audience engagement and growth that await those arts administrators and marketers who recognize that the world revolves not around the performances they stage but rather around their customers and the progress they're seeking to make in their lives.

Founding Dean at Jefferson College of Population Health, Dr. David Nash, recently co-authored a book entitled "How Covid Crashed The System: A Guide To Fixing American Health Care", in which he and Charles Wohlforth draw parallels between flying a plane and delivering healthcare services. Leaning into the analogy, they liken the American healthcare system to an airplane crash – and they're the post-crash investigators searching for the black box. The first half of the book describes to readers what was found in the black box of our healthcare system, while the second half presents the authors' report about how we might fix this mess and get the plane back in the air. In this episode, David joins The Christensen Institute's Ann Somers Hogg to discuss insights about the fault lines in American healthcare; how the pandemic shone a spotlight on the challenges that were already present long before March of 2020; and steps that we can take – including a more aggressive approach to tackling drivers of health, realigning incentives, and rethinking medical education – to address the multiple system failures in our current healthcare system. Listen to hear more about this opportunity to build a better, safer, and more equitable healthcare system in the United States.

One of the items you'll find on Booster Co-Founder & CEO Frank Mycroft's desk is a BSSE placemat, highlighting the frameworks that are covered in the course, which Frank took at Harvard Business School in 2012. Since its founding in 2015, Booster has built an energy-agnostic, modular, mobile network in which the company knows the energy demands of its customers, has the ability to procure the right energy products at the right time, and can leverage technology to ascertain the sustainability scores of these energy products – and all without needing to build complicated brick-and-mortar infrastructure that can make it impossible to get to the scale that alternative energy types and fuels need to be successful. In this episode, Frank joins Rose Park Advisors' Steve Geskos to discuss the story of Booster, from the struggling moments that were the seeds of its founding and innovative approach to energy delivery; to the transition to fleets; to today's smart energy and data management initiatives; to Frank's thoughts on Booster's future upmarket moves and growth. Given that Frank has drawn on insights gleaned from the BSSE frameworks throughout his time building and scaling the business, Booster represents a great example of theory in action, in this case, as applied to the acceleration of adoption of greenhouse emissions-reducing products, such as renewable diesels, biofuels, electricity for EVs, and hydrogen. Listen to learn more about how Booster is helping its customers to navigate the mixed energy future!

Clayton Christensen and Rita McGrath, one of the top management thinkers in the world, spent over two decades as both colleagues and friends. To this day, the concept of Discovery-Driven Planning, first widely introduced in a 1995 HBR article by Rita and Ian MacMillan, is taught in the Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise course at Harvard Business School. In this insightful conversation, Rita joins host Derek van Bever to discuss a number of topics highly relevant to management and strategy, including her work on inflection points and spotting the future before it arrives; the importance of testing fundamental assumptions (and why we so often fail to do so); barriers to innovation and growth; and Valize, the company that Rita founded to help organizations build lasting innovation capability as the basis for long-term shared prosperity. Listen to learn more!

Earlier this summer, members of the Innosight team attended The Consumer Goods Forum Global Summit 2022 in Dublin, Ireland, where they joined industry leaders and spoke on the topic of Dispelling The Myths of Customer-Centricity. In this Disruptive Voice episode, Scott Anthony is joined by his colleagues, Claudia Pardo and Pontus Siren, to further delve into these myths. Through the lenses of the Jobs To Be Done framework, and drawing on a number of real-world examples, they consider how the application of Jobs Theory fundamentally changes how one thinks about innovation, strategy, and how best to set an organization on a path to success. Creating a customer-centric organization grounded in the idea of a Job To Be Done, however, remains a remarkably elusive target, despite many knowing that it's important and that it provides clear benefits. In other words, being customer-centric may seem like a relatively simple and straightforward idea – but customer-centricity is often difficult to implement in practice. Tune in for a fascinating discussion about the myths of customer-centricity, including why its practical application is so challenging and, crucially, actionable steps that organizations can take and tools that they can use to truly become more customer-centric, thereby increasing the odds of successfully building and sustaining a successful enterprise. 

After college, Kareem Farah became a high school math teacher, teaching in the traditional way that most of us experienced as students, with the instructor standing in front of the classroom and lecturing on the information that students were supposed to learn. Much to his frustration and dismay, however, he soon discovered that there were some things that were shockingly wrong about traditional teaching and learning, namely that the instructional model was largely broken and kids in his classroom were not being well-served by it. As such, Kareem, along with fellow teacher, Rob Barnett, co-founded The Modern Classrooms Project – addressing their personal Job To Be Done of “Help me to replace this broken instructional model so that I can better serve my students.” In this episode, and through the lenses of the Jobs To Be Done framework, Kareem joins The Christensen Institute's Tom Arnett to discuss the unique instructional delivery professional development model that they're building at Modern Classrooms Project, including features such as the model being opt-in only and both curriculum and grade level-agnostic, and also how it results in more student-centered classrooms, along with better outcomes for both teachers and students. The Modern Classrooms Project is a great example where the founders' own struggling moments were indeed the seeds for innovation in the K-12 classrooms where teachers have adopted the Modern Classrooms instructional model. Listen to learn more! 

Southeast Asia is a vibrant, fast-growing, and diverse region of the world, home to vast opportunities, particularly for those supporting market-creating innovations. In this episode, Nick Ongkowijaya - an HBS and BSSE alumnus who also worked as an Associate at Innosight - joins host Katie Zandbergen to share the story of the new venture studio that he's building in Southeast Asia, called Gradient. Nick discusses the local context, including the drivers of non-consumption of entrepreneurial opportunities in the region; how he's building his venture studio to bring more would-be entrepreneurs into the startup ecosystem; the many BSSE frameworks that he regularly draws upon, both in building Gradient and in thinking about the venture studio's pipeline of companies; and the potential of market-creating innovations in Southeast Asia, particularly as they relate to solutions for the informal economy. Through the founding of Gradient - and drawing on the work being done there to foster entrepreneurship and innovation - Nick presents listeners with a number of great examples of theory in action out there in the world! 

In this episode, The Christensen Institute's Ann Somers Hogg joins host Ann Christensen to, through the lens of the business model framework, discuss the significance of drivers of health to the future of the health care industry. In her newly-released paper, You Are What You Treat: Transforming The Health Care Business Model So Companies And People Thrive, Ann Somers provides a compass to guide leaders as they develop transition plans to succeed in a value-based future. The paper – and this conversation – addresses questions surrounding why our health care industry is where it is when it comes to tackling drivers of health; why business model transformation in the health care space is particularly challenging; what organizations employing innovative business models are doing to improve people's health and overall quality of life; and what health care leaders can learn from these examples. Truly, a sharper focus on foundational business model structures in the health care space can transform lives! Tune in to this thought-provoking conversation to learn more.

In her book, The Long Game: How To Be A Long-Term Thinker In A Short-Term World, Dorie Clark both reflects on the importance of having a longer-term strategy for our personal and professional lives, and provides readers with practical steps that can be taken to optimize for the future. In this episode, she joins hosts Derek van Bever and Katie Zandbergen to discuss the book and, in doing so, draws a number of parallels between her work and How Will You Measure Your Life. Together, they discuss a range of topics, including the value of long-term thinking, and why it's often so challenging; discovering one's purpose; managing uncertainty; finding balance between personal and professional goals; different types of networking; reorienting to see the bigger picture, and more! Truly, the power of making small, strategic changes today can be enormous in terms of impact on future success – it's all about playing the long game. 

In the Harvard Business Review article, Persuade Your Company To Change Before It's Too Late, Innosight's Scott Anthony, Pontus Siren, and Utsav Bhatt describe how to break the information-action paradox and gain conviction to act before industry change gets ahead of your organization. In doing so, they draw on the story of King & Wood Mallesons (KWM), a law firm whose management team had the conviction required to successfully respond to disruptive change, taking steps to manage it without ripping apart the fabric of their organization. In this discussion, the three touch on a number of related topics, including navigating disruption in a rapidly changing world, the careful balance that leaders must strike when making consequential decisions, breaking the information-action paradox, and so much more. As they make clear in this episode, "Heroes don't act when they're on burning platforms – they avoid ending up on them in the first place!" Listen to learn more. 

Michael Mauboussin and Matt Christensen's paths first crossed over two decades ago, just before the first edition of Expectations Investing: Reading Stock Prices for Better Returns, co-authored by Michael and Alfred Rappaport, was published. In this episode, Michael and Matt discuss the revised and updated edition of the book, which came out in 2021 and reflects the many changes that have occurred in the business landscape over the last twenty years, along with a number of related topics. From capital markets to metrics; from team building to cognitive diversity; from the ramifications of game theory to consilience; and from disruption as a business model problem to the creation of long-term shareholder value, this thoughtful and engaging conversation is impressive in both its depth and breadth!

In the acknowledgments section of Competing Against Luck, co-author Taddy Hall wrote, “Twenty-four years ago, when I walked into the classroom for the first day of Clay's class, I had no idea of the adventure that was about to begin. Over these many years, there has never been a conversation with Clay that didn't leave me feeling a humbled sense of gratitude for his patience, wisdom, and kindness. Thank you, Clay.” In this episode of The Disruptive Voice, the adventure continues as Taddy joins host Shaye Roseman – formerly a Research Associate at The Forum for Growth & Innovation – to share stories from his time collaborating with Clay, how the Jobs To Be Done framework came to fruition, and the relationship between innovation and brands. In particular, Taddy recounts and reflects on a number of examples relating to how he, Shaye, and their fellow practitioners at Lippincott use Jobs Theory on a daily basis to not only design products and services but to actually build brands. This is a must-listen conversation for those interested in learning more about what successful brands do, how they do it, and the power of the Jobs To Be Done framework to build these brands! 

A few months ago, Professor Scott Kominers and Cliff Maxwell, former Chief of Staff to Clayton Christensen and an HBS alumnus, co-authored an HBR article entitled, What Makes An Online Marketplace Disruptive?  They pointed out that rather than digitize or make existing transactions more efficient, truly disruptive marketplaces create entirely new transactions, engaging non-consumers and/or non-producers.  In this episode, Scott joins Cliff to discuss a number of topics relevant to online marketplace disruption, including sources of market failure; entrepreneurial opportunities for marketplace design; trust as an enabler of market participation; the disruptive potential of platforms enabled by Web3 and blockchain technologies; market design as a tool for addressing inequality; and much more!  They draw on examples such as the experience of buying a used car, Airbnb's disruptive business model, and the market for high-end art.  This is a must-listen conversation for those curious about marketplace design; what disruption in marketplaces looks like; and how entrepreneurs, investors, and others can spot future marketplace opportunities! 

In 2015, when Matt Lerner jumped from Director at PayPal to early-stage VC and advisor, Clayton Christensen's ideas flipped from being interesting theories to essential daily practices. Matt has now worked with over 100 startups, helping them to find product market fit and scale. He runs Startup Core Strengths and helps companies use Jobs interviews to speed growth, even with startup budgets. In this episode, Matt joins host Katie Zandbergen to discuss the five tactics that drove 90% of PayPal's hyper-growth; failure rates and patterns from 500 Startups' portfolio of 1,800 investments; the root causes of why most venture-backed startups fail; how two startups used their Jobs lessons to disrupt crowded markets and grow immensely; and the danger zone right after a fundraise when founders' overconfidence can bias crucial decisions, to name but a few examples. This episode is a master class for anyone looking to harness the power of the Jobs To Be Done framework to build and grow a young company! 

During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, many parents opted or were directed by their children's schools to enroll students in online learning. However, for a number of reasons – including students feeling lonely, the online model often requiring heavy involvement by parents in the learning process, and the practicalities of caregivers needing to return to work – online learning hasn't gained longer-term traction but is instead seen by many families as a short-term solution during challenging times. Observing these trends, and wanting also to help break the connection between geography and educational outcomes, Amar Kumar saw an opportunity to build a new company, KaiPod Learning. As Founder & CEO, Amar makes a distinction between “Zoom School”, which many students around the world experienced in one form or another over the past two years, and a true online learning experience. Hosted by The Christensen Institute's Thomas Arnett, they discuss the Jobs To Be Done of different stakeholders in K-12 education; issues surrounding access to high-quality learning; the role that schools play in society; the new educational model that Amar and his team are building at KaiPod Learning; the future of online education, and more!

The challenges faced by senior leaders seeking to transform well-established organizations are well documented. What's more, roadmaps for tackling these challenges are widely available. Still, incumbent organizations continue to fail at an ever-increasing rate and senior leaders struggle to take the steps they know they should take to keep their companies innovative and thriving. Why? In this episode, Alex Slawsby and Christian Stadler join host Katie Zandbergen to delve into this dilemma of senior leadership and, in doing so, also propose some rather unconventional solutions. Listen to learn more! 

In her new role as CEO at Officinae Bio, Christina Nesheva is working to create an inherently innovative organization that pushes the boundaries of nature co-design. In doing so, she draws on her experience having led one of the pharmaceutical industry's first innovation labs, at ViiV Healthcare, along with her time driving innovation, change, and new product commercialization at the pharmaceutical giant, GSK. In this episode, Christina, who is also a startup mentor and author of The Entrepreneur's BattleBook, joins host Erika Meldrim to reflect on what it takes to advance innovation at both incumbent and startup organizations. Inspired by Clay's research, they discuss the role of senior leadership in supporting innovation at large companies; the critical insights gained from maintaining a focus on customers' Jobs To Be Done; the challenges and opportunities associated with operating on two tracks, having a strategy both for today and for what's on the horizon; the entrepreneurial mindset; successfully capturing value during the scaling process, and more! With attention given to both sides of the innovation coin, this engaging conversation is a must-listen for anyone working to foster innovation within their organizations. 

Tom Arnett is Senior Research Fellow – Education at The Clayton Christensen Institute, where he studies instructional models and demand for innovative resources and practices across the K-12 education system. In this episode, he joins host Michael Horn to dig into his latest research, sharing insights on what Clay's frameworks can tell us about recent developments in online learning and also how the incorporation of new techniques in K-12 schooling models might evolve as we slowly emerge from the pandemic. For instance, can lessons learned on what not to do with online learning help to ignite its adoption going forward? How are teachers thinking about their instructional models in a world rocked by pandemic disruption? How have school systems' RPPs affected their response to the pandemic? And will schools work to reinvent their business models to accommodate changing stakeholder expectations or will K-12 schools remain largely unchanged in the longer term? Listen to this engaging conversation to hear Tom's thoughts on these important questions and more! 

In this episode, Dr. William Hait, Global Head of Johnson & Johnson External Innovation, discusses how the 135 year old company is using the principles of disruption to improve the trajectory of healthcare across the globe. Dr. Hait, who leads a unit comprised of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson, and the company's World Without Disease Accelerator, oversees the creation of transformational new growth platforms. Hosted by Innosight's Josh Suskewicz, they discuss The Innovator's Prescription and how one of the keys to disruption in healthcare is the democratization of products and services enabled by the deskilling of complex medical procedures; eliminating disease through prevention, interception, and cure (including why a focus on prevention is so crucial and so challenging); redefining how we think about disease; the importance of anchor assets; and why the support of leadership at the highest levels is crucial to warding off disruption in incumbent organizations. Listen to learn more about how Johnson & Johnson has positioned itself to actively look for disruption on the horizon, leading to frequent investments in or partnerships with would-be disruptors, a strategy that has helped to turn perceived threats into tangible opportunities for the future of innovation in healthcare. 

In honor of The Disruptive Voice's 80th episode, along with the start of the new academic year at Harvard Business School, we decided to re-release this recording from our archives. Originally released in September of 2016, Clay had invited some of his former Building & Sustaining a Successful Enterprise (BSSE) students back to campus to talk about the goals of the course, while also taking questions from the audience. In this episode, he discusses not only what the BSSE course has set out to achieve, but also the importance of having a common language and way to frame problems, and what theory has to say about competitive response, electric vehicles, mergers and acquisitions, RPPs (resources, processes, and priorities), anomalies, enabling technologies, measuring one's life, and more! Take yourself back five years in time and pull up a seat to this great session with Prof Clayton Christensen.  

Back in 2003, Steve Kaufman was the first partner who Clay brought on to teach the BSSE course with him, and he has subsequently had a tremendous impact on generations of our students. At the end of June, Steve officially retired from the Harvard Business School. As such, we wanted to sit down with him to have him to reflect on his career and time working with Clay, his thoughts on the course and its cases, and his forecast for the future of management education. Hosted by Derek van Bever, the two also discuss a number of Steve's “Kaufmanisms” (for instance, never try to teach a pig to sing; good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgement; if you can't hide it, feature it; and culture eats strategy for breakfast every morning!), along with his thoughts on the importance of mentorship, disruptive versus sustaining innovations, his favorite BSSE frameworks, whether incumbents have become better at warding off disruption, and so much more. Enjoy this lively conversation - and have a wonderful rest of your summer! The Disruptive Voice will be back in September with more conversations that we hope you'll find inspiring and useful. 

One consequence of the coronavirus pandemic has been the acceleration of many industry trends that had already been underway in 2019. The ever-increasing pace of change in the restaurant industry is no exception, and one particular development of note has been the rise of dark kitchens, also known as cloud kitchens or ghost kitchens. A few months ago, Sam and Prashant (along with co-author Yury Adamov) published a paper entitled, “When Kitchens Go Dark: How Covid-19 Could Transform the Restaurant Industry.” In this episode, they join Steve Geskos to further elaborate on the topic, taking a deep dive into the world of dark kitchens. Both draw on Prof Christensen's theories to reflect on the restaurant space, but Sam - Founder and CEO of Phinix Virtual Kitchens Group - considers industry change from the perspective of an entrepreneur who abandoned his brick-and-mortar restaurant in order to adopt a dark kitchen business model, while Prashant offers insights from his vantage point as a Partner at Innosight. This thought-provoking conversation touches on a myriad of topics, including the brutal competitiveness of the industry; the changing basis of competition and the incumbents who might be most prone to disruption as a result; the long-term viability of traditional restaurants' business models; and the opportunities created by big event disruptions to drive growth, including changing consumer expectations in a world slowly emerging from the pandemic and its implications for those looking to build and sustain successful enterprises in this space. 

Many listeners will know Ann Christensen as President & CEO of The Clayton Christensen Institute. To Clay, however, she was his oldest daughter, Annie. How Will You Measure Your Life, published with co-authors James Allworth & Karen Dillon in 2012, is one of Clay's most popular books, challenging each of us to think more deeply about our life and our purpose, including how we nurture our relationships to become enduring sources of happiness. In this episode, and through the lens of How Will You Measure Your Life, Ann reflects on what it was like to grow up in the Christensen house, sharing stories and memories of Clay as a father. Hosted by Katie Zandbergen, she also discusses her path from Duke University to Mongolia to Harvard Business School and beyond, along with the story of The Christensen Institute, both where it's been and where Ann hopes to lead the organization in the future. At the helm of The Christensen Institute, and embodying Clay's love of learning from “all kinds of kinds”, Ann is carrying on her father's work, making the world a better place through Disruptive Innovation. 

Snigdha Sur is a Harvard Business School alumna and founder of The Juggernaut, a premium publication and community that publishes smart and well-reported stories about South Asia and South Asians. Hosted by Anibha Singh, Snigdha discusses developments and gaps in the news and media landscape, including how these impact South Asian diaspora communities; the story behind the founding of The Juggernaut, along with how the organization has evolved from conception, through its development, to its current form; and her vision for the platform going forward. In chronicling her experiences as Founder & CEO at The Juggernaut, Snigdha also reflects on the BSSE theories that have informed her path, shares insights on what the entrepreneurial journey has taught her about launching a venture as a minority female founder, considers the future of media, and offers advice to those looking to build and sustain successful enterprises of their own. 

In this conversation, hosted by Michael Horn, Julia builds on her foundational statement, “Opportunity really sits at the intersection of what you know and who you know.” Together, they discuss the important distinctions between our strong tie and weak tie networks; innovation in education; the ed tech market and which tools are best suited for network building, and in which circumstances; the Cadillac versus the KIA of mentoring organizations and strategies; performance metrics; the rise of chat bots, and more! Julia also shines a light on the new playbook created by The Clayton Christensen Institute, designed to support K-12 and post-secondary leadership in the implementation and adaptation of strategies, tools, and metrics that build and strengthen their students' networks. The disruption story here lies in the potential not of putting all relationships online but rather exploiting technology's competitive advantage to diversify our weak tie networks, which are most helpful for creating opportunities that may otherwise be out of reach. Listen to learn more about steps we can take to help ensure that every student graduates with the networks needed to thrive! 

John de Souza is an entrepreneur and investor who, over the course of his career, has accumulated a great depth of experience in sectors of technology, automotive, health, and finance. In this episode, he joins Steve Geskos to discuss his current role as Co-Founder and President at Ample, a company whose mission is to accelerate the transition to electric mobility through the offering of an energy delivery solution that is as fast, as convenient, and as cheap as gas, while also being powered by 100% renewable energy. This is accomplished by delivering energy to electric vehicles through modular battery swapping, which resonates greatly with the Interdependence & Modularity framework taught in the Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise (BSSE) course developed by Prof Christensen at Harvard Business School. Ample’s swapping stations require no construction and take up only the space of two parking spots, the swapping process itself is fully automated, and their future-proof batteries adapt to any electric vehicle. Listen to learn more about this market-creating innovation, John’s vision for Ample, and the future of transportation!

Along with his work as a Managing Director at Innosight, the consulting firm co-founded by Clayton Christensen and Mark Johnson over two decades ago, David Duncan is also a co-author with Clay on Competing Against Luck and co-author with Scott Anthony, host of this episode, on Building A Growth Factory. Most recently, David - a leading authority on the Jobs To Be Done framework, and drawing on his wealth of experience conducting market investigations – has published The Secret Lives of Customers: A Detective Story About Solving the Mystery of Customer Behavior. David and Scott touch on a myriad of topics in this insightful and witty conversation. In one instance, David, reflecting on the experience of writing his page-turning mystery, tells listeners, "I've always thought that doing research on customers is kind of like detective work. You go out in the world, you do interviews, you try to gather clues and piece together patterns and make observations, and you draw out insights to crack the case - I took that metaphor to an extreme in this story and used that as a premise for the plot." The Secret Lives of Customers addresses the conundrum that though more data than ever before is widely available, most still find it challenging to understand who their customers really are, why they act as they do, and what they really want. Learning to think like a market detective can help to answer these questions!

In this episode, Efosa Ojomo returns to The Disruptive Voice to discuss his latest research at The Christensen Institute’s Global Prosperity group. He and his colleague, Lincoln Wilcox, recently published a report highlighting six innovative strategies for creating new markets in emerging economies. This conversation, hosted by Katie Zandbergen, focuses on the findings from their research, along with the implications for those looking to create prosperity around the globe. Efosa speaks not only about the tremendous opportunities surrounding market-creating innovations, helping would-be entrepreneurs to see prospects for building and sustaining successful enterprises where they might least expect them, but also about demystifying the process, debunking false narratives and empowering entrepreneurs to launch innovative and market-creating ventures in emerging markets. 

Talenia Phua Gajardo, an alumna of HBS Executive Education’s Disruptive Innovation course, is Founder & CEO of The Artling, an online gallery and arts consultancy featuring a curated collection of art and design pieces from a myriad of artists, galleries, and designers. Founded in 2013, the organization aims to both showcase stunning works of art and to make them more accessible to a broader, international audience. As you’ll hear more about in this episode, the pandemic has presented The Artling with both challenges and opportunities, but of particular note is how Covid-19 has forced the rapid digitization of art galleries. Hosted by Chris Diak, Talenia discusses steps she’s taken to steer The Artling through choppy coronavirus waters; her thoughts on why people hire art and design; the importance of trust in this age of increasing e-commerce; how she’s thinking about pursuing growth and scaling her organization; the experience of art in-person versus through online platforms; and the future of the arts industry. We hope you enjoy this artful conversation! 

Many students of Clayton Christensen’s will be familiar with the US Steel case that he wrote as a graduate student in the 1990s, one that is still used today in the BSSE curriculum at Harvard Business School. The case tells the story of the minimills’ low-end disruption of US Steel, entering the market with rebar and then steadily moving up-market to bars & rods, then on to structural steel, and finally to sheet steel at the high end of the market. The incumbent, US Steel, was caught in a classic example of what Clay called “the innovator’s dilemma”, losing its position of leadership precisely because management made logical and competent decisions along the way. In this episode, we highlight another great example of a low-end disruptor, Norsk Titanium. The company successfully entered the low end of the metal manufacturing market and now, like the minimills before it, is planning its disruptive march up-market. Hosted by Katie Zandbergen, Mike Canario, CEO of Norsk Titanium, tells the story of Norsk’s humble beginnings in Norway; how it came to build the largest 3D printing factory in the world; the many benefits of its innovative and enabling technology, Rapid Plasma Deposition; and how management is looking to the minimill playbook as it charts its course to higher levels of the market.  Mike offers lessons in management, innovation, and low-end disruption that we hope you’ll find inspiring and useful!