Understanding "Seeing what's Next" by Clayton Christensen

In the book "Seeing What's Next" which was written by Clayton Christensen, Scott Anthony and Erik Roth it discusses and analysis the use of a number of theoretical frameworks. It looks at how companies are using innovation and how businesses can use these theories to predict industry change. To do this they use three iterative steps:

1. Looking for signals of change and seeing if the non-consumers and both under and overshot customers are being addressed
2. Looking at the actions in the competitive market and seeing if companies are effectively using the sword and shield approach of Asymmetries, and
3. Watching firms and their strategic choices. Seeing how those choices increase or decrease its chances of successfully managing the process of disruption.

Important lessons learn't with "Seeing What's Next" naturally relate to disruptive innovations and understanding that it is a process not an event. In many respect disruptive innovation is perspective as some find it disruptive others are able to sustain the innovation. Understanding that different or radical technology does not equal disruptive. Finally disruptive innovation does not limit itself to high-tech markets. Christensen discusses a number of examples in "The Innovators Dilemma" which are more based on addressing the non-customers and those customers who are not so demanding.

The book "Seeing What's Next" discuss the process involved in theory building and then reviews the following concepts:

• Disruptive innovation theory
  
• Resources, processes, and value (RPV) theory
  
• Jobs-to-be-done theory
  
• Value chain evolution (VCE) theory (with corollary sustaining innovation classification scheme)
  
• Schools of experience theory
  
• Emergent strategy theory (with supporting discovery-driven planning tool)
  
• Motivation/ability framework
  

Each of these theories are explained and notes provide references to other source materials. This is a book that will be something you come back to, time and time again. I am working through this book for the second time and can see that I will be doing it again. The more you read the more you find and its the clarification and application which shows the power.