The Innovators Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth

C. M. Christensen, Michael Raynor

Harvard Business Press, Sep 1, 2003 - Business & Economics - 304 pages

In the worldwide bestseller The Innovator's Dilemma, Clayton M. Christensen exposed a crushing paradox behind the failure of many industry leaders. By doing what good companies were supposed to do-focus on pleasing their most profitable customers-leaders were paving the way for their own demise. How? By ignoring "disruptive technologies"-new, cheaper innovations that initially target small customer segments but evolve to displace the reigning product.

Now, Christensen and coauthor Michael E. Raynor cut the Gordian knot of the "innovator's dilemma" with The Innovator's Solution. This groundbreaking book reveals that innovation is not as unpredictable as most managers have come to believe. While the outcomes of past innovations seem random, the process by which innovations are packaged and shaped within companies is very predictable. By understanding and managing the forces that influence this process, companies can shape high-octane business plans that create truly disruptive growth.

Drawing on years of in-depth research and using new theories tested in hundreds of companies across many industries, the authors identify the processes that create successful innovations, and show managers how to tailor their strategies to the changing circumstances of a dynamic world.

Comprehensive yet practical, The Innovator's Solution is an actionable prescription for innovation-driven, profitable growth.

"A good business book makes managers stop and think. A great business book teaches managers how to stop and think. This is a great book. It is hard to imagine an executive team that would not benefit from devoting an entire day to discussing it."

-Geoffrey Moore, Chairman and Founder, TCG Advisors, and author, Crossing the Chasm and Living on the Fault Line

"In The Innovator's Solution, Christensen and Raynor address the holy grail of all organizations: how to generate growth and sustain it over long periods. Avoiding the temptation to provide simplistic formulas, they guide the reader through carefully constructed frameworks that teach how to think about the issues that limit-and provide-growth to organizations."

-Dr. Andrew S. Grove, Chairman of the Board, Intel

"Christensen and Raynor have done a superb job of creating a framework for helping to understand the industry dynamics and for planning your own growth alternatives."

-Pekka Ala-Pietilä, President, Nokia Corporation

"Singapore, as a small nation, needs to be innovative and sensitive to disruptive changes more than other countries. Christensen and Raynor have provided an excellent framework to reduce the randomness of the innovation process. This framework will help in our effort to nurture an environment conducive for enterprises to create and capitalize on disruptive innovations."

-Teo Ming Kian, Chairman, Singapore Economic Development Board

"The Innovator's Solution goes directly to the heart of why large companies have failed to sustain innovation. Christensen and Raynor have a deep insight into the challenges that innovative companies face, and they propose practical, realistic solutions to the dilemmas of innovation. This book will be extremely useful to all managers who are committed to using innovation to sustain their growth."

-Bill George, former Chairman and CEO, Medtronic, Inc.

What people are saying

Review: The Innovator's Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth

User Review  - Julia Mailander - Goodreads

Fantastic insight on how new products interact with the current ecology of products. Very nice layout of how "disruption" actually breaks down, and what is needed at various stages of the disruption cycle. Although it is a dry read, very interesting information.

Review: The Innovator's Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth

User Review  - Niniane Wang - Goodreads

One of the top 5 business books I've read. Explained a lot of things I noticed about creating and growing software products!

Contents

• The Growth Imperative: 1
• How Can We Beat Our Most Powerful Competitors?: 31
• What Products Will Customers Want to Buy?: 73
• Who Are the Best Customers for Our Products?: 101
• Getting the Scope of the Business Right: 125
• How to Avoid Commoditization: 149
• Is Your Organization Capable of Disruptive Growth?: 177
• Managing the Strategy Development Process: 213
• There Is Good Money and There Is Bad Money: 235
• The Role of Senior Executives in Leading New Growth: 267
• Epilogue Passing the Baton: 285
• Index: 293
• About the Authors: 303

About the author

Clayton M. Christensen is the Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and the author of seven books, including the bestselling The Innovator’s Dilemma and The Innovator’s Solution. He’s also a five-time recipient of the annual McKinsey Award for Harvard Business Review's best article, including 2010’s “How Will You Measure Your Life?” Christensen is the cofounder of four companies, including the innovation consulting firm Innosight. In 2011, he was named the world's most influential business thinker in the Thinkers50 ranking. Michael E. Raynor, D.B.A., is a director at Deloitte Research, the thought leadership arm of Deloitte & Touche and Deloitte Consulting.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Innovators Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth; Harvard Business School Press
• Authors: C. M. Christensen, Michael Raynor
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Harvard Business Press, 2003
• ISBN: 1578518520, 9781578518524
• Length: 304 pages
• Subjects: Business & Economics / Forecasting; Business & Economics / Management