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.