Business Quote by Anthony Ulwick
““Disruptive innovation, as made popular by Harvard Business School professor Clayton M. Christensen, results when a company uses a new technology to disrupt the prevailing business model in an existing market that is filled with overserved customers. This approach to innovation is different.””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen, 1997
Disruptive innovation occurs when a firm leverages new technology to overturn an existing market's dominant model, targeting customers who are over-served by current offerings.
In simple terms: New tech can overturn old markets and help underserved customers.
Key Takeaway
Identify underserved customers and apply new tech.
Themes
innovation
technology
market disruption
customer focus
Mood
strategic
analytical
Type
business
strategic
When to use this quote
- startup strategy
- product development
- market entry
- competitive analysis
Key Concepts
disruptive innovation
business model change
overserved customers
Questions to Reflect On
- How can firms balance serving current customers while pursuing disruption?
- What risks arise when targeting over-served segments?
A Different Perspective
Requires careful timing and may alienate existing customers.
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
![“If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bad/bertrand-russell-69_acquire_if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy_1379.jpg)