HBR's 10 Must Reads Ultimate Boxed Set (14 Books)

Meeting the Challenge of Disruptive Change

by Clayton M. Christensen and Michael Overdorf

THESE ARE SCARY TIMES for managers in big companies. Even before the Internet and globalization, their track record for dealing with major, disruptive change was not good. Out of hundreds of department stores, for example, only one—Dayton Hudson—became a leader in discount retailing. Not one of the minicomputer companies succeeded in the personal computer business. Medical and business schools are struggling—and failing—to change their curricula fast enough to train the types of doctors and managers their markets need. The list could go on.

It’s not that managers in big companies can’t see disruptive changes coming. Usually they can. Nor do they lack resources ...