Why Great Companies Still Fail to Adapt

Welcome to episode #1006 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation).

Disruption isn’t always loud. It’s often quiet, slow and deeply human. That’s one of the lessons Scott Anthony has spent his career unpacking. As a leading voice on innovation and the managing partner emeritus at Innosight (the consultancy founded by the late Clayton Christensen), Scott has helped global companies navigate the uncertainty that comes with change. He si currently a Clinical Professor of Strategy at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business. His latest book, Epic Disruptions – 11 Innovations That Shaped Our Modern World, reframes how we think about progress through stories that stretch from gunpowder to generative AI, showing that real innovation rarely arrives overnight (he’s also written eight other books). It compounds through persistence, vision and luck. In this conversation, we explore what disruption really looks like inside organizations: the emotional toll of change, why mergers and acquisitions often fail, and how the next generation of intrapreneurs can learn from past innovators rather than repeat their mistakes. We also talk about the future of business education and how AI is rewriting the way we learn, teach, and measure knowledge (and why the classic case study model still has a role to play if it evolves with the times). Scott’s perspective is grounded in humility and curiosity, shaped by years of studying leaders who dared to think differently and systems that resisted transformation. Whether you’re navigating the next big pivot, building within a legacy organization, or simply trying to understand how the forces of innovation ripple through industries, this conversation offers a rare mix of strategy and soul. It’s not about predicting the next big thing, it’s about learning to see the patterns in change itself. Enjoy the conversation…

• Running time: 54:55.
• Hello from beautiful Montreal.
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• Here is my conversation with Scott Anthony.
• Disruptions – 11 Innovations That Shaped Our Modern World.
• Scott’s other books on innovation and strategy.
• Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business.
• Follow Scott on LinkedIn.

Chapters:

(00:00) - Introduction to Disruptive Change. (05:03) - Navigating the Use of AI in Learning. (09:32) - The Language of Collaboration with Technology. (10:32) - Reflections on Clayton Christensen's Influence. (14:19) - The Role of Case Studies in Business Education. (18:21) - Understanding Failure in Business Contexts. (20:44) - The Complexities of Mergers and Acquisitions. (23:02) - The Challenges of Change Management. (25:21) - The Future of Work and Collaboration. (27:16) - Defining Disruption and Collaboration. (28:04) - Epic Disruptions: The Selection Process. (29:24) - The Stories Behind Disruptions. (31:01) - Lessons from Julia Child and Disruption. (34:05) - Understanding Stasis in Business. (38:37) - Why Great Companies Fail. (41:20) - The Role of Incumbents in Innovation. (43:18) - The Emergence of Intrapreneurs. (45:12) - Navigating the Great Unfreezing. (47:36) - The Long Game of Technology Adoption. (49:04) - The Four Questions of Disruption.