“Only the general manager can mold the resources, processes, and values that affect innovation , into a coherent capability to develop and launch superior new products and services repeatedly.” ValuesProcessProductsResourcesInnovationSuperiorsManagersCapabilityMoldNew ProductsGeneral Manager Book:Innovation and the General Manager Source: Innovation and the General Manager
“The whole enterprise of teaching managers is steeped in the ethic of data-driven analytical support. The problem is, the data is only available about the past. So the way weve taught managers to make decisions and consultants to analyze problems condemns them to taking action when its too late.” WayWholeProblemActionPastDecisionSupportTeachingTaughtLateEthicsAvailableDrivenManagersDataEnterpriseToo LateTaking ActionConsultants Author:Clayton Christensen
“Core competence, as it is used by many managers, is a dangerously inward-looking notion. Competitiveness is far more about doing what customers value than doing what you think you're good at.” ThinkingUsedValuesNotionCustomersCoreManagersInwardCompetenceCompetitiveness Author:Clayton Christensen
“In my first career I had founded my own company, with a group of MIT professors, before coming to Harvard to finish my doctorate, and so I had a deep respect for the brains, talent, and dedication of managers. That made it hard for me to believe the attributions in the business press that stupid management was to blame. So I looked elsewhere for an explanation.” FirstsBelieveMadeHardMy OwnBrainCompanyCareersGroupsTalentStupidManagementBlamePressesMade ItManagersExplanationProfessorsDedicationElsewhereHarvardMitStupid MenDoctoratesAttribution Author:Clayton Christensen
“One reason there are so many short-lived management fads is that their prescriptions were derived and advocated in precisely this way. So managers read about a fad and try it, find that it doesn't work, abandon the effort, and move on to the next thing. In reality, it is usually the case that the faddish prescription was indeed sound advice in certain circumstances, but actually was poor advice in other circumstances.” WayTryingReasonRealityMovingCertainNextSoundPoorEffortCasesAdviceCircumstancesManagementManagersAbandonPrescriptionsFadsShort LivedSound Advice Author:Clayton Christensen
“To prop up the stock price, managers have to turn down the screws on everybody. That forces them to cancel all the projects that would lead to future growth in order to drop money to the bottom line. This is HP's dilemma today. Once a company's growth has stopped, the game as we have known it is over. It's a scary thing.” TodayOrderTurnsGamesForceGrowthLinesCompanyKnownProjectsBottomScaryManagersOver ItScrewsBottom LineDilemmaPropsScary ThingsStock PriceFuture Growth Author:Clayton Christensen
“Disruptive technology is a theory. It says this will happen and this is why; it's a statement of cause and effect. In our teaching we have so exalted the virtues of data-driven decision making that in many ways we condemn managers only to be able to take action after the data is clear and the game is over. In many ways a good theory is more accurate than data. It allows you to see into the future more clearly.” WayHappensAbleActionGamesCausesDecisionTechnologyVirtueClearTeachingEffectsTheoryDrivenStatementsManagersDataDecision MakingAccurateCause And EffectExaltedDisruptive Author:Clayton Christensen
“This is one of the innovator’s dilemmas: Blindly following the maxim that good managers should keep close to their customers can sometimes be a fatal mistake.” ShouldSometimesMistakeFollowingCustomersManagersGood ManMaximsDilemmaInnovatorsGood ManagerFatal Mistakes Book:The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail Source: The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail
