Embracing Disruption: From Skepticism to Acceptance

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The chapter explores how the theory of disruption gained traction among business leaders, highlighting interactions like Clay and Andy Grove's. It discusses the evolution of perceptions towards entrepreneurship, the challenges faced by well-established companies in adapting to disruptive changes, and the criticisms faced by the theory, including responses from a Harvard historian. The conversation also delves into the limitations and challenges of proactively identifying disruptions and reevaluates the theory through a biotech CEO's unconventional approach to innovation.

In 1995, the late and legendary Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen introduced his theory of “disruptive innovation” right here in the pages of the Harvard Business Review. The idea inspired a generation of entrepreneurs and businesses, ranging from small start-ups to global corporations.

Three decades later, debates have emerged around how the theory should be applied — especially within technology start-ups that have driven so much economic growth since 2000.

In this episode, Harvard Business Review editor Amy Bernstein and a panel of expert scholars discuss the legacy of disruptive innovation, and how the common perception of disruption has drifted away from its original meaning.

Expert guests include:

· Harvard Business School senior lecturer and director of the Forum for Growth and Innovation Derek van Bever

· Columbia Business School professor Rita McGrath

· Harvard Business School professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee

Key episode topics include: strategy, competitive strategy, business history, disruptive innovation, Clay Christensen, innovator’s dilemma.

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