9.0 Books worth reading about disruptive innovation
For those who prefer constructive approach without long narrative and don’t have so much free time, the following books are my favorite — can be used both for startups and incumbents’ strategy and developing creative and innovative thinking:
- Value Proposition Design by Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur et al. focuses on the core of human-centered approach — fit a product with its customers’ needs and how to do it. It comprises different strategies and methodologies like Blue ocean, Lean Startup, Design Thinking, JTBD, etc. I think, this is the first book digital media folks should start with — what we do and for whom we do.
2. Disruption by Design by Paul Paetz provides a constructive vision how to find diruptive potential and what are its triggers. Also outlines the necessary elements of strategy for incumbents and startups to be more disruptive.
In my dissertation I outlined Paul Paetz’s three principle factors that creates the opportunity for disruption — the most interesting is Scarcity — find the disruption, latent demand, where no one or few people do.
Includes the Disruption by Design Canvas for mapping a disruptive business model.
2. The Innovator’s DNA by Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregensen and Clayton Christensen, the founder of Disruptive innovation theory, reveals 5key skills of innovators: associating, questioning, observing, experimenting, networking, and how to these skills.
It may look that innovators are born, not made. This book shows that any idea is not a flash, but an explainable chain of mind’s actions. Any new idea is based on old ones.
3. Strategic Intuition by William Duggan presents this definition as a different from the ordinary intuition which based on feelings. Strategic intuition is the opposite: it’s thinking, not feeling.
As Innovator’s DNA it also explains where ideas come from and comprises different theories like Thinking, Fast and Slow, supported by detailed examples of great achievements in different areas: art, philosophy, technologies, governing, military, etc.
4. Big Bang Disruption by Paul Nunes and Larry Downes outlines the big picture of markets dynamic and the impact of digital and describes the nature of disruption.
The authors offer twelve rules coming up within four stages: Singularity, The Big Bang, The Big Crunch, Entropy, for defending the current business, launching the disruptive projects and just being confident that all accelerated processes happening all around with digital are quite normal.
5. Digital Disruption by James McQuivey reconsiders Maslow’s classic hierarchy of needs and presents four fundamental humain needs models, and combined to meet the most essential criteria - they explain how human needs affect individual behavior while being expressed in a way sufficiently simple to guide digital disruptors to a better product strategy.
James McQuivey proposes some techniques to map out future product features involving these fundamental needs that help to seek the adjacent possible solutions and thus create a new path of innovation.
6. Design Thinking for Strategic Innovation by Idris Mootee is a clear guide how to apply design thinking in business. I would present a classic design thinking book Change by Design by Tim Brown, but this one by Idris Mootee resonates with my way of thinking more closely — even a definition of Design Thinking.
7. Running Lean by Ash Maurya is a practical tool for developing a startup within three stages: Problem/Solution Fit, Product/Market Fit, Scale.
Its website offers an convenient online Lean Canvas framework you can fill in for your startup.
There is one more book The Lean Startup by Eric Ries, but in my case I found it too narrative.
8. Daring & Disruptive by Lisa Messenger inspires with powerful stories, business lessons and tips — a good balance between story telling and constructive approach. Helps to stay focus on purpose, go deep and be open for experiements.
The main message — start from your personality. Everything you do comes from your inner core. Your life is your message to the word.
9. Jobs To Be Done by Chris Spiek and Bob Moesta is insightful tool for recovering latent needs of your audience, understanding why they hire a job (buy a product) and switch it. It would be better to take an online course for mstering this technique. A book is not so detailed and insightful.
Yes, it needs time and efforts, but it’s worth it. First I heard about this tool at one of Hyper Island’s workshops made by its co-founder Jonathan Briggs. It presents it like a true detective tool — find something no one notice.
10. The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick helps to ask the right questions to find out whether your idea is good and how to talk to your customers.
It presents how customer conversations go wrong and how you can do better.
All the other great books like:
- Zero to One by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters;
- Beyond Strategy by Michael Moesgaard Andersen and Flemming Poulfelt;
- How We Got To Now by Steven Johnson;
- The End of Competitive Advantage by Rita Gunther McGrath;
- Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahnenman;
- The Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgn;
- The Innovator’s Solution by Clayton M. Christensen,
and others are helpful, but some of them seemed to me too narrative and general or their strategy are already used by one of the above mentioned books. For my case I figured out my Top-10.
