First Friday Book Synopsis

NOVEMBER 26, 2014

Karl Ronn is the managing director of Innovation Portfolio Partners. He is also developing a software company building diagnostic competency for […]. Based in Palo Alto, he helps Fortune 500 companies create new businesses or helps entrepreneurs start category creating new companies.

Levitt 99

Levitt Kotter Christensen Rogers 99

Lead Change Blog

APRIL 1, 2016

This month we are featuring Leading Voice Chip Bell , author, renowned keynote speaker on innovative customer service, and consultant/speaker to such organizations as Microsoft, Nationwide, Marriott, Lockheed-Martin, Cadillac, Ritz-Carlton, Caterpillar, Verizon, USAA, Harley-Davidson, and Victoria’s Secret.

Levitt 150

Levitt Godin Customer Loyalty Airlines 150

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 13, 2014

In 1960, marketing legend Ted Levitt provided perhaps his seminal contribution to the Harvard Business Review : “ Marketing Myopia.” To avoid that, Levitt exhorted leaders to ask themselves the seemingly obvious question – “What business are you really in?” Innovation Leadership Strategy' And short-term numbers at that.

Levitt 11

Levitt Christensen Competitive Advantage Welch 11

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 18, 2016

In 1960, Harvard professor Theodore Levitt published a landmark paper in Harvard Business Review that urged executives to adapt by asking themselves, “What business are we really in?” ” Other attempts to adapt to Apple’s innovations, such as the Zune mp3 player, didn’t gain traction either.

Company 8

Company Levitt Succession Agility 8

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 18, 2015

Christensen and two co-authors revisit where disruption theory stands today in a new HBR article, “What Is Disruptive Innovation?” As Ted Levitt pointed out 55 years ago, companies develop significant myopia over time, only seeing things that are squarely in the mainstream of their market.

Disruptive Innovation 8

Disruptive Innovation Christensen Levitt Innovation 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 21, 2014

Decades ago, Harvard professor Theodore Levitt popularized the rationale behind why people buy quarter-inch drill bits: “People don’t want quarter-inch bits. Technology advancements are quickly outpacing traditional use cases, making the design and development of meaningful products harder than ever. They want quarter-inch holes.”

Levitt 8

Levitt Early Adopters Productivity Products 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 19, 2015

This insight resonates with our work on disruption across industries: disruptive innovations create new systems or “value networks” that eventually displace the old ones. The second has to do with scope.

Strategy 8

Strategy Levitt Energy System 8