Seeing What's Next: Using Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change by Clayton M. Christensen

Seeing What's Next: Using Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change Reviews

• 
  Nick

  Skip this book, read this paper instead:
  
  http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/4353.html
  
  If there was a ChangeThis Manifesto for Clayton Christensen's Seeing What's Next, this post at Harvard Business School's Working Knowledge would be it. This paper explains why (but not using these exact examples) Net Neutrality should be allowed to exists, why RIAA/MPAA will die off, why NBC and Universal's Hulu service is destined to fail.
• 
  Marcus Goncalves

  An excellent work in the process of understanding and applying innovation. Although published almost 20 years ago, thus book provides several timeless tools to assist in the evaluation and prediction of the outcomes of innovative ideas.
• 
  Jacques Bezuidenhout

  To quote another review that mostly sums it up:
  "The points made in this book about distinguishing signals from noise, positioning organizations for response to threats and opportunities and the challenges faced by organizations due to size and resource limitations all make good sense and come through, but the discussions of each theory of innovation are so excruciatingly dense that it became too much to focus my attention any longer." -Kent
  
  You'll save yourself time by just reading
  http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/the-innovat...
  
  There are some useful ideas, and it is nice to hear about some of the battles in areas/technologies that we take for granted today.
  
  In some areas of the book you get lost in the alphabet soup of acronyms and abbreviations.
  
  This is quite a long book to get through, and I cannot really say that it was worth it.
  I got what I needed out of Innovator's Dilemma and Solution already.
• 
  Fred Cheyunski

  A Key to Disruptive Innovation Theory and Use - Reading Christensen's How Will You Measure Your Life? , inspired me to re-look at his earlier "Seeing What's Next" (written with different co-authors).
  
  The former book helps one consider ways innovation theories (e.g. new ways of conceiving services such as 'Uber' and 'Lyft' disrupted the personal transportation industry) can be brought to bear in one's personal life (see my review of that work), while the later remains an indispensible reference for these theories and their application.
  
  Agreeing with other reviewers that there are many positive aspects to this book, the Introduction, Conclusion (What's Next?), Appendix (Summary of Key Concepts), and Glossary are particularly helpful as quick guides and "job aides."
  
  For instance, the Introduction explains the core theories of innovation, e.g. why certain actions, such as disruptive innovations, lead to certain results. It also emphasizes the benefits of good theory in looking into the future in the face of conclusive business data only about the past (see such examples as in my review of Eric Topol's The Creative Destruction of Medicine: How the Digital Revolution Will Create Better Health Care ).
  
  The Conclusion recaps the book providing a figure that concisely compiles the "questions in the analytical process" including those regarding "signals of change," "competitive battles," and "strategic choices." Another figure offers "lessons" from theory based analyses of the education, aviation, semiconductor, health care, and telecommunication industries----a jumping off point to other Christensen books on particular sectors, e.g. education ("Disrupting Class") and health care ("Innovators Prescription").
  
  In the Appendix, there are figures and text that summarize "the theory building process," theories of "disruptive innovation," "resources/processes/values," "jobs to be done," "value chain evolution," "schools of experience," and "emergent strategy." Similar charts and brief descriptions also recount "sustaining innovation classification," "discovery driven planning," and "motivation/ability" frameworks. The Glossary conveys definitions of these and other related terms.
  
  This book is a key to Disruptive Innovation theory and a roadmap to be consulted in its use.
• 
  Khalid Hajeri

  Learn how to notice the little things that make big changes in industries!
  
  "Seeing What's Next" is an informative business book co-written by three authors (Clayton M. Christensen, Scott D. Anthony, and Erik A. Roth) that tells readers about the seemingly trivial things in innovation processes that lead to vast improvements in certain company industries. Using the invention of the telephone as a major point to be taken, the authors provide techniques on how to spot disruptive elements that can make a big difference in a business.
  
  The authors make it clear that most businesses either overlook hints of positive disruptions that improve their customer demands, or they simply ignore their lesser competitors' potentially disruptive inventions and systems brought into the competitive markets. Whatever the case, the businesses that fail to notice will lose out on improving their own systems and will struggle to fulfill their customers' requirements. Thankfully, this book provides great case studies of industries ranging from automotive, education, telecommunications, and even healthcare. The ways in which the companies from the respective industries found opportunities to successfully disrupt the status quo are all revealed and analyzed in an easy to understand manner, even for readers that do not have a strong business background.
  
  I would have liked to see an exercise section to question readers on their views regarding the case studies. Although the first three chapters or so contain questions about the theories behind the art of seeking signs of industry disruption, they are too open-ended and frankly readers can easily skip them without missing any relevant information. Still, they are interesting questions nonetheless.
  
  All in all, "Seeing What's Next" is a very well written book on a topic that scares most companies, yet it is a topic that they must look into if they want to succeed in the business game of disruption. Definitely essential reading for business book readers.
• 
  Leoncio Soler

  I enjoyed the book, it describes critical concepts to understand innovation and it's relation to entrepreneurship. The examples are kind of outdated but, the ideas and theories behind them are timeless.
• 
  Anna

  I guess it was not the right time to read this book. I found it too academic for my needs and taste. It will probably be useful to C-suit and entrepreneurs whose full time job requires analyzing the market and see what's next.
• 
  Kim

  It’s hard to believe this book was written in 2004! That was 15 years ago and the content is still so relevant. I felt like it could have been written last year given some of my current challenges, but I think it just speaks to how difficult it is for an incumbent to change.
• 
  Dana

  I am fascinated by any book written by Clayton Christensen. He has an interesting perspective on innovation and how it drives business strategy. If you like business and marketing and strategy, this is a must read
• 
  CatReader

  Though this book was published nearly 20 years ago, there's a lot of practical insight here that's foretold many disruptive technologies that have taken hold and become dominant in the market in the interim.
• 
  Paul

  Not worth time you spent to read it. Don't even open it.
• 
  Leeann

  Written in 2004, but I read it for a class in 2017. This needs severe updating as many of the innovations mentioned are now obsolete. Additionally, it's pretty heavy on telecommunications - would be nice to have a slightly broader view, especially for those who do not have a technical background.
• 
  Robert

  Seeing What’s Next: Using Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change
  Clayton M. Christensen, Scott D. Anthony, and Erik A. Roth
  Harvard Business School Press
  
  According to Christensen, "While the two previous books [i.e. The Innovator's Dilemma and The Innovator's Solution] were aimed at managers inside firms who wanted to defend again or attack with a disruption, Seeing What's Next is written for those who watch industries from the outside, and who must make important decisions based on what they see. It will help executives, analysts, investors, and others who have a stake in a specific industry to evaluate the impact of innovations, the outcomes of competitive battles, and the moves made by individual firms -- and to make smarter business decisions, forecasts, and stock recommendations based on those evaluations. The goal here [in Seeing What's Next] is to dramatically increase the odds of getting things right in the arena where wrong decisions could be devastating."
  
  The abundance of material provided in this book will help decision-makers to understand both the opportunities and (yes) the perils of disruptive innovation. Here are a few of the key points: disruption is a process, NOT an event; disruption is a relative phenomenon in that what is disruptive to one company may be sustaining to another; different, even radical technology does NOT equal disruptive; disruptive innovations are NOT limited to high-tech markets. Re this last point, the authors carefully explain that disruption can occur in any product or service market and can even help to explain competition among national economies. (Please see Chapter Chapter 9, pages 207-223). Another substantial value-added benefit of this book is derived from the generously annotated "Notes" at the end of each chapter. Together, these sections (all by themselves) are worth far more the cost of this book.
  
  In a single volume, the authors guide and inform decision-makers in all manner of organizations as they embark on the three-part process by which to (1) identify signals of change, (2) evaluate competitive, head-to-head battles between companies loosely classified as "attackers" and "incumbents" (please see the Glossary), (3) formulate appropriate strategic choices that can influence the outcome of competitive battles, and (4) meanwhile establish and then sustain an effective relationship between innovation and nonmarket forces such as government regulation. Christensen, Anthony, and Roth are to be congratulated for creating what seems certain to become a business book "classic."
  
  
  
  
• 
  Alberto Lopez

  Fantastic complement to The Innovator's Solution by the same author.
  In my list of the best business books to read:
  http://albertoalopez.blogspot.com/201...
• 
  Oghenovo Obrimah

  For someone interested in learning more about the science and art of innovation, "Seeing What's Next..." is a good book. The notion of "disruptive innovation" clearly is a relevant approach to thinking about innovation. This book suffers, however, from a flaw that afflicts most books on innovation or strategy, which is there really does not exist any well defined quantitative structure for implementing disruptive innovation. As a financial economist, I have yet to find a book on innovation or strategy that provides a quantitative structure for applying the science and art of innovation. While this clearly is not an easy task, I know of at least one company that claims it is possible. Think quantitative structure that allows for flexibility in applications. Neither SWOT analysis nor Porter's Five Forces provide any quantitative structure for applications of their strategy or innovation paradigms. Given this flaw is characteristic of most books on innovation, clearly this flaw in no way decreases the value of this book. Personally, I found the authors to be very pragmatic about the realities of unfair competition that derives from the presence of established firms in an industry within which there is room for innovation. If you are looking for ideas on how to innovate and how to think through the presence of unfair competition within an industry, this is a good book.
  
  Understanding Research Design and Choice of Methodology: A Theory Based Practical Approach
  
• 
  Timothy Chklovski

  Good application of the theories laid out in Christensen's et al earlier books. Perhaps best read some time after "Innovator's Solution", to benefit from spaced repetition. Although the book does not add entirely new frameworks, the application to specific industries adds nuance. For example, the health industry is presented as tiers of providers, from patients self-administering tests to nurses to GPs, to specialists and subspecialists, all increasingly moving upmarket as disruptive innovations make treatments easier to administer.
  Also interesting were the detailed examples of "cramming" -- trying to place an immature innovation into too big and mature a market, as well as examples of how to analyze what processes a company is likely to excel at, and whether those help or hurt in co-opting innovation.
  Well worth reading, although more for filling in detail rather than charting whole new ways of analysis.
• 
  Oli Ogbonna

  I found it quite interesting reading this book about 10 years after it was published.
  The first interest is in ascertaining the era that the concepts in the book are applicable to.
  When exactly were the authors referring to when they said "Next"?
  But far more than that is the validity of the theories they postulated in dealing with effects of innovative thinking and activities of innovators in the market and society at large.
  I would say that from an ex-post view point that the theories are worthwhile and still relevant.
  They are not all holy writ but good knowledge that can be applied under similar circumstances identified in the book.
  I recommend this book to all those involved in the fast changing information and communication technology industry
• 
  Derek

  I'm likely not the businessman/investor type to read this book, but really enjoy Christensen's perspective and way of explaining processes and evolutions. He has authored a book that covers a great amount of breadth and depth in how to see and create ideas that will disrupt current practices. He covers a good blend of known and less familiar case studies to leave a lasting, memorable impression that I can apply in my own miniature business ideas. The fact that this was written in 2004 and so many of these topics are now the more pressing to our ecomony testifies of the insight the authors have.
• 
  Kent

  Perhaps my rating should be slightly less than OK, but that doesn't exist in the stars. Listening was tedious and I could not get past about 70% of the way through. I finally asked myself why I was forcing my self to allow this background noise that did not hold my interest. I shut it down. The points made in this book about distinguishing signals from noise, positioning organizations for response to threats and opportunities and the challenges faced by organizations due to size and resource limitations all make good sense and come through, but the discussions of each theory of innovation are so excruciatingly dense that it became too much to focus my attention any longer.
• 
  د.أمجد الجنباز

  من الكتب الرائعة
  تتحدث عن كيف تبدأ الابتكارات الهدامة صغيرا
  ثم تكتبر بالتدريج الى ان تكتسح المنافسة
  مثلا، عندما بدأت سكايب
  كان السوق منقادا بواسطة المسنجر الخاص بوندز
  لكن سكايب كبر واكتسح المسنجر حتى اضطر مايكروسوفت إلى شرائها بمبلغ ٨ مليارات
  الواتس اب أيضا اكتسح السوق صغيرا ايضا بشكل ابداعي ثم تحول بعدة سنوات الى اكبر برنامج للرسائل واشتراه فيس بك ب ١٦. مليار
  
  ان اردت ان تعرف كيف يحدث ذلك، ولما لا يستجيب المنافسون بشكل جيد عادة ثم يخسرون بشكل مؤلم
  وان اردت ان تعرف من اين عليك ان تكتسح السوق
  فلا بد لك من قراءة هذا الكتاب
  
  علما ان المؤلف هو من اكثر كتاب الادارة تاثيرا على مستوى العالم
• 
  Claudia Yahany

  Hace 10 años seguramente fue buenísimo, pero se le nota el paso del tiempo. Christensen no está equivocado, pero hay explicaciones mucho menos complejas para casos más actuales, usando prácticamente los mismos términos (esta observación aplica para todos sus libros).
  Demasiado académico, pudiendo hacer las cosas más sencillas para el lector promedio ¿qué necesidad? Christensen hace reflexiones de casos (que como siempre es sólo observar el pasado) para concluir en que "todas las empresas son diferentes" y "lo que es innovador/disruptivo para unos puede no serlo para otros". Lo cual tristemente es cierto.
• 
  Mo Arshath

  The book "Seeing whats next" explains how to make decisions by predicting what could happen in any industry by using the data of how and why things happened in the past. This is explained by describing the advancements and the failures happened in Telecommunications, Semi-Conductors, Education, Healthcare and Aviation. This is the 3rd book in this series followed by Innovators dilemma and Innovators solutions. The take-away for me are "Why and when to target Under shot customers, Over shot customers & Non users" and the concept of identifying where a company stands in "Motivation ability framework".
• 
  TK Keanini

  There are useful patterns in this book. What you don't want to do is take any of this too literally because our industry is moving so quickly that the value is in the functiional patterns applied to your own system dynamic. You can put this on the list of books that help you develop foreknowledge.
• 
  Jenny (biggeist 1D fan alive) Rahal

  I haven't read it yet but I'm starting to
  So far so good this isn't my type of book but it's pretty good
  I'm still trying 2 fit in with the book but it's not working for me
  Like come on I'm only 13 I don't think I should be reading this type of book
  But it's not bad
  But just not for me
  (sorry if I'm not making sense)
• 
  Vincent

  The content on "disruptive innovation" alone makes this book an absolute must-read for any forward-thinking businessman, whether you're a manager or investor. On top of that, the discussions on spotting industry change and analyzing competitive battles between two firms in an industry, make the book an invaluable asset.