The Innovator's Dilemma

In this summary you will learn

• How disruptive innovations can make great companies fail
• Why this happens even if they keep doing everything that made them great in the first place
• Why it sometimes makes sense to do the wrong things

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Why you should read The Innovator's Dilemma

Professor Clayton M. Christensen’s excellent book is a classic of strategy literature. The innovator’s dilemma is that doing the right things can lead to failure. Sometimes it is wrong to listen to customers, invest in the highest return opportunities and do all of the things that made a successful company succeed. Clearly written, amply documented, provocative and challenging, this book is indispensable for anyone in business. If it has a shortcoming, it is that it focuses more on the dilemma than on resolving it and it does not offer specific remedial prescriptions. However, Christensen has authored or co-authored two other books that attempt to remedy that deficiency. getAbstract.com heartily recommends this book, which remains the leader of the three. It has the potential to change the way managers think about business - any business.

About the Author

Clayton M. Christensen is the Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Business Administration, with joint appointments in Technology, Operations Management and General Management, at Harvard Business School. He holds a doctorate in business administration.