An expert from global ranking Thinkers50

Starting from now every week we will introduce an expert from global ranking Thinkers50. We will also recommend one book of each expert. You can also visit the Thinkers50 exhibishion at SKOLKOVO Library during the SKOLKOVO Open Day which will be conducted on Saturday, October 6th!

CLAYTON M. CHRISTENSEN

World expert on innovation and growth.

It’s easier to hold to your principles 100% of the time than it is to hold to them 98% of the time. If you give in to “just this once,” based on a marginal cost analysis, you’ll regret where you end up. You’ve got to define for yourself what you stand for and draw the line in a safe place.

You may hate gravity, but gravity doesn’t care.

The innovator’s DNA: mastering the five skills of disruptive innovators

Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen, Clayton M. Christensen
Harvard Business Review Press, 2011
296 pages.
ISBN: 9781422134818

Where do disruptive business models come from? This book looks at individual creativity in the business context. It is based on a large study of business innovators from companies including Amazon, Dell, eBay, Skype and PayPal. There are five discovery skills which distinguish the innovator from everyone else. These are questioning, observing, networking, and experimenting resulting in the ability to associate new ideas and make connections. The book also introduces the idea of the innovation premium, that is the extent to which the market value of a company is higher than can be attributed to its existing business, and identifies those companies, some obvious and some surprising, which are high on this measure. The leaders of these companies recognize the importance of discovery skills and are able to integrate them into the organizational culture.