What “disruptive” actually means

What "disruptive" actually means?

In his book “The Innovator’s Dilemma,” Clayton Christensen (who died last month) defines Disruptive Innovation.

Disruptive innovations succeed not by competing in an existing market, but by finding a new market, often opening up a market to a new segment. The new segment has different needs and is best served by a different technology.

The reason incumbents typically fail at disruptive innovation is that the existing customers don’t want the new innovation. It doesn’t meet their needs. Startups are more likely to succeed at disruptive innovation because they find a new market that is better served by the new technology."

by Jason Crawford

What “disruptive” actually means

Written by Jason Crawford the day after Clayton Christensen's death, in January 2020, this short piece restores the precise meaning of “disruptive”. A sustaining innovation serves existing customers better on what they already value. A disruptive one is often worse on those criteria but better on another, usually cheaper or simpler, and wins a new market that incumbents ignore because their best customers do not want it.

Source: Jason Crawford