SM_L3 Guest Lecture

Question 1

Who co‑founded Innosight and was ranked Number 1 Management Thinker in 2011 & 2013?

Answer 1

Clay Christensen (1952‑2020)

• Harvard Business School Professor
• Innosight Co‑founder
• Awarded Number1 Management Thinker (Thinkers50) in 2011 & 2013

Question 2

What is Innosight’s mission when working with clients?

Answer 2

• ACCELERATE new growth initiatives
• CREATE long‑term growth strategies & strategic transformations
• BUILD innovation capabilities for repeatable growth

Question 3

What does disruption simultaneously present to incumbent firms?

Answer 3

• CHALLENGE: protect from value destruction
• OPPORTUNITY: accelerate value creation

Question 4

How did Netflix disrupt traditional video rental?

Answer 4

• Offered wider selection but lower immediacy via mail‑order DVDs
• Eliminated late fees (main incumbent profit source)
• Introduced streaming to surpass store immediacy
• Incumbents constrained by their own norms & metrics

Question 5

What are the six early warning signs of disruption?

Answer 5

• Decreasing customer loyalty
• Increasing venture‑capital investment
• Entrants at market fringes
• A differentiated business model from a competitor
• Changing customer habits
• Slowing revenue growth with stronger bottom‑line focus

Loyal VCs Fringe Differently, Habits Change, Revenue Slows.

Question 6

Which three organisational challenges fuel inertia against disruption?

Answer 6

• Challenge of ACTION– inertia toward the current way of doing business
• Challenge of ALIGNMENT– hidden misalignment on the future state
• Challenge of ANALYSES– too little data & not enough time

Question 7

Name behaviours that let leaders ‘delude’ themselves about disruption.

Answer 7

• Focus on best customers only, ignoring those who will switch to cheaper disruptors
• Retain a false feeling of safety from reassuring data
• Exhibit a lack of understanding of subtle disruptive dynamics

Question 8

Why act on early signals rather than wait for full proof?

Answer 8

• Patient Visionaries act when proof is low but freedom high
• Deliberate Innovators act with moderate proof & declining freedom
• Waiting leads to a Burning Platform: high proof yet low freedom due to crowded competition

Question 9

What question reframes product choice under Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) thinking?

Answer 9

“Why do you hire a coffee?” – customers ‘hire’ solutions to get their Job Done

Question 10

Define a Job to Be Done.

Answer 10

A problem someone is trying to solve or a goal they want to achieve in a particular circumstance

Question 11

What three aspects comprise a Job to Be Done?

Answer 11

• Functional – what the consumer wants to do
• Social – how they want to be perceived
• Emotional – how they want to feel

Question 12

Give examples of Jobs to Be Done cited in the lecture.

Answer 12

• Caffeinate me
• Find a place to stay
• Tell time
• Go from A to B
• Connect with a colleague
• Feel like part of a community

Question 13

Summarise the Dual Transformation framework.

Answer 13

• TransformationA: reposition today’s core business
• TransformationB: create tomorrow’s new growth engine
• Capabilities Link bridges A & B to flip the dilemma

Question 14

What did Christensen note about ‘disruption’ ten years after The Innovator’s Dilemma?

Answer 14

‘Disruption’ and ‘different’ are not synonyms; many disruptions arise from mastering the simple solution, not dramatic technology breakthroughs

Question 15

List three learnings on disruption that have stood the test of time, according to Innosight.

Answer 15

• Better technology is better… until different is better
• Disruption is not just technology
• Disruption can stem from business‑model innovation