Michael E. Raynor – författare

A compelling vision. Bold leadership. Decisive action. Unfortunately, these prerequisites of success are almost always the ingredients of failure, too. In fact, most managers seeking to maximize their chances for glory are often unwittingly setting themselves up for ruin. The sad truth is that most companies have left their futures almost entirely to chance, and don’t even realize it. The reason? Managers feel they must make choices with far-reaching consequences today, but must base those choices on assumptions about a future they cannot predict. It is this collision between commitment and uncertainty that creates THE STRATEGY PARADOX.This paradox sets up a ubiquitous but little-understood tradeoff. Because managers feel they must base their strategies on assumptions about an unknown future, the more ambitious of them hope their guesses will be right – or that they can somehow adapt to the turbulence that will arise. In fact, only a small number of lucky daredevils prosper, while many more unfortunate, but no less capable managers find themselves at the helms of sinking ships. Realizing this, even if only intuitively, most managers shy away from the bold commitments that success seems to demand, choosing instead timid, unremarkable strategies, sacrificing any chance at greatness for a better chance at mere survival.Michael E. Raynor, coauthor of the bestselling The Innovator''s Solution, explains how leaders can break this tradeoff and achieve results historically reserved for the fortunate few even as they reduce the risks they must accept in the pursuit of success. In the cutthroat world of competitive strategy, this is as close as you can come to getting something for nothing.Drawing on leading-edge scholarship and extensive original research, Raynor’s revolutionary principle of Requisite Uncertainty yields a clutch of critical, counter-intuitive findings. Among them:-- The Board should not evaluate the CEO based on the company’s performance, but instead on the firm’s strategic risk profile-- The CEO should not drive results, but manage uncertainty-- Business unit leaders should not focus on execution, but on making strategic choices-- Line managers should not worry about strategic risk, but devote themselves to delivering on commitmentsWith detailed case studies of success and failure at Sony, Microsoft, Vivendi Universal, Johnson & Johnson, AT&T and other major companies in industries from financial services to energy, Raynor presents a concrete framework for strategic action that allows companies to seize today’s opportunities while simultaneously preparing for tomorrow’s promise.From the Hardcover edition.

Finally, an answer to the ultimate business question: How do some companies achieve exceptional performance over the long term? In every sector, there’s an outlier. In the phar­maceutical industry, it’s Merck. In discount retail, it’s Family Dollar. It used to be Wrig­ley in candy and Maytag in appliances. Other superstars have been hidden in plain sight, like Heartland Express in trucking or Linear Technology in semiconductors. How do these exceptional companies deliver superior perfor­mance over the long run despite facing the same constraints as competitors? What are they doing differently? What can we learn from them? Michael E. Raynor and Mumtaz Ahmed have analyzed data on more than 25,000 com­panies spanning forty-five years. Their five-year study began with a sophisticated statistical analysis to identify which companies have truly exceptional performance, 344 in all. In collaboration with teams of researchers, Raynor and Ahmed then put a carefully chosen representative sample of twenty-seven com­panies under the microscope to uncover what made the stand-out performers different. They found that exceptional companies, when faced with difficult decisions, follow three rules:Better before cheaper. They rarely compete on price.Revenue before cost. They drive profits through price and volume, not thrift.There are no other rules. Everything else is up for grabs, and they are willing to change anything to remain true to the first two rules. The rules provide an indispensable compass that any company can use to chart its own path to greatness. Is it better to keep price down or invest in creating value that commands a higher price? Should you focus on talent and develop­ing the abilities of your people or build processes to extend the capabilities of your organization? How about acquiring a sizable competitor to secure economies of scale—or a small start-up to gain access to new technology? According to Raynor and Ahmed, the right answers to these and just about every other question are the ones most closely aligned with the rules. The Three Rules is built on a powerful combina­tion of large-scale data analysis and in-depth case studies. Its guidance will increase the chance that your organization can become truly exceptional.

Clayton Christensen’s definitive works on innovation—offered together for the first timeWill you fall victim to disruptive innovation—or become a disruptor yourself? Tip the odds in your favor with the bestselling books that have made Christensen one of the world’s foremost authorities on innovation. You’ll also get his award-winning HBR article, full of inspiration for finding meaning and happiness in your life using the principles of business.The 4-volume collection includes:The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to FailIn one of the most influential business books of our time, Christensen introduced the world to the concept of disruptive innovation, showing how even the most outstanding companies can do everything right—yet still lose market leadership. Don’t repeat their mistakes.The Innovator’s Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful GrowthCiting in-depth research and theories tested in hundreds of companies across many industries, Christensen and co-author Michael Raynor provide the tools organizations need to become disruptors themselves.The Innovator''s DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive InnovatorsChristensen and coauthors Jeffrey Dyer and Hal Gregersen identify behaviors of the world’s best innovators—from leaders at Amazon and Apple to those at Google, Skype, and the Virgin Group—to show how you and your team can unlock the code to generating and executing more innovative ideas.“How Will You Measure Your Life?” (HBR article)At Harvard Business School, Clayton Christensen teaches aspiring MBAs how to apply management and innovation theories to build stronger companies. But he also believes that these models can help people lead better lives. In this award-winning Harvard Business Review article, he explains how, exploring questions everyone needs to ask: How can I be happy in my career? How can I be sure that my relationship with my family is an enduring source of happiness? And how can I live my life with integrity?

The New York Times bestseller and seminal work on disruption—for every company seeking new growth.Clayton Christensen's bestselling book, The Innovator's Dilemma, introduced the groundbreaking idea of disruptive innovation, revealing how even well-run companies can do everything right and yet still lose market leadership.In The Innovator's Solution, Clayton Christensen and Michael Raynor expand on the idea of disruption, explaining how companies can and should become disruptors themselves. Now with a foreword by innovation expert Scott Anthony, this classic work shows just how timely and relevant these ideas continue to be in today's hyper-accelerated business environment and will help anyone trying to transform their business right now.Christensen and Raynor give advice on the business decisions crucial to achieving truly disruptive growth and propose guidelines for developing your own disruptive growth engine. The authors identify the forces that cause managers to make bad decisions as they package and shape new ideas—and offer new frameworks to help create the right conditions, at the right time, for a disruption to succeed. This is a must-read for all senior managers and business leaders responsible for innovation and growth, as well as for members of their teams.Based on in-depth research and theories tested in hundreds of companies across many industries, The Innovator's Solution is a necessary addition to any innovation library—and an essential read for entrepreneurs and business builders worldwide.

The definitive books on one of the most influential business ideas of our time, disruptive innovation.His work is cited by the world's best-known thought leaders, from Steve Jobs to Malcolm Gladwell. In these classic bestsellers, innovation expert Clayton Christensen shows how even the most outstanding companies can do everything right—yet still lost market leadership. In The Innovator's Dilemma, Christensen presents his theory of disruptive innovation and explains that, no matter the industry, a successful company with established products will get pushed aside unless managers know how and when to abandon traditional business practices. In The Innovator's Solution, Christensen and his coauthor, Michael Raynor, expand on the idea of disruption, showing how companies can and should become disruptors themselves. Sharp, cogent, and provocative, these are the two books that no manager, leader, or entrepreneur should be without.

Un clásico del emprendimiento. Desde Steve Jobs hasta Jeff Bezos, la obra de Clay Christensen continúa guiando a los líderes y organizaciones más innovadores de la actualidad. Continuación y remate de su obra anterior, El dilema de los innovadores, este trabajo definitivo ayudará a cualquiera que intente transformar su empresa u organización.Clayton Christensen y Michael Raynor amplían la idea de la disrupción y explican cómo las empresas pueden y deben convertirse en disruptoras, al tiempo que muestran cuán oportunas y relevantes siguen siendo estas ideas en el vertiginoso entorno empresarial actual. Christensen y Raynor identifican las fuerzas que hacen que los gerentes tomen malas decisiones, a medida que moldean nuevas ideas y postulan marcos y condiciones para que la disrupción tenga éxito. Lectura obligada para altos directivos y líderes empresariales, así como para los miembros de sus equipos, esta obra es una pieza fundamental en cualquier biblioteca dedicada a emprendedores y creadores de negocios en todo el mundo.