logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2024
23m 53s

Innovation Doesn’t Have to Be Disruptive

Harvard Business Review
About this episode

Disruptive innovation has proven to be such a powerful idea that the word “innovation” is often equated with the broader idea of market disruption. But that’s not always the case.


INSEAD strategy professor Renée Mauborgne says there is a way to create new markets without destroying jobs, companies, and communities. She calls this idea: “nondisruptive creation.”


Mauborgne explains how some entrepreneurs and companies have been able to grow billion-dollar businesses by creating new markets rather than displacing existing ones. She points to Square, which enables credit card transactions with a mobile phone or tablet, as one prime example.


Mauborgne also breaks down the key operational advantages that come with nondisruptive creation and explains how to spot a nondisruptive market opportunity and evaluate its potential.

Key episode topics include: strategy, innovation, disruptive innovation, growth strategy, entrepreneurs and founders.

HBR On Strategy curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock new ways of doing business. New episodes every week.

· Listen to the full HBR IdeaCast episode: Disruption Isn’t the Only Path to Innovation (2023)

· Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast

· Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org

Up next
Jun 25
An Announcement from HBR On Strategy
For the last two years, HBR On Strategy has been a collection of the best conversations and case studies with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock new ways of doing business. But the time has come for HBR On Strategy to hit pause on new episodes. We ... Show More
1m 5s
Jun 25
The Strategic Advantage of Tapping Freelancers
The rapid pace of technological change is making a big impact on hiring. Some organizations are dynamically securing freelance workers through platform apps like Upwork and Freelancer. Other companies are investing heavily in work enabled by artificial intelligence. John Winsor a ... Show More
30m 26s
Jun 18
The Promises, Pitfalls, and Trade-offs of the Circular Economy
Most businesses are built on a linear model: take, make, and discard. But that norm is reaching its limits, and leaders are under pressure to find smarter, more sustainable ways to operate. Weslynne Ashton is a systems scientist and professor at the Illinois Institute of Technolo ... Show More
20m 36s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2025
The Microsoft Mindset - How Innovation Fuels Success & Growth
Innovation Secrets from Inside Microsoft If you're not innovating, your competition is. That’s the world we live in. Microsoft didn’t become one of the most dominant companies on the planet by accident—it built a culture of constant reinvention, adaptation, and innovation. And to ... Show More
1h 2m
Sep 2024
How to Manage Breakthrough Innovation
How do you guide a team working on innovative projects—when there is no existing playbook? Astro Teller says he uses a vetted approach to decision-making for the innovative projects that he and his teams undertake at X, Alphabet’s R&D engine. Teller is the Captain of Moonshots at ... Show More
30m 16s
Dec 2024
511: Disney’s Former Head of Innovation on Sparking Creativity and Making Innovation Happen
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 511, an interview with the author of The Imagination Emporium: Creative Recipes for Innovation, Duncan Wardle.   In this episode, Duncan discusses how to promote creativity in business and explains how the subconscious mind generates better idea ... Show More
37m 53s
Sep 2024
Scale Like Jeff Bezos
In this episode, Charles peels back the layers of Amazon's unprecedented success with Steve Anderson, the Wall Street Journal bestselling author who's become the Rosetta Stone of Bezos' business philosophy. Steve unveils the hidden gems he's mined from years of studying Amazon's ... Show More
51m 7s
Nov 2024
How Large Firms Can Get Innovation Right
Think of a large company you admire. What kind of leadership culture do they have — and how does that affect their ability to innovate? If you went right to command-and-control leadership, you’re not alone. It’s a common approach to leading large organizations. But MIT Sloan Scho ... Show More
27m 35s
Jun 2024
Innovation via Spinout Culture
Join Tom Wheelwright as he discovers how we can create a culture that invites and encourages innovation within our small business with his guest, André Laplume. Dr. André Laplume, co-author of SPINOUT VENTURES, is a full professor of entrepreneurship and strategy at the Ted Roger ... Show More
37m 43s
Jul 2024
How to Create a Culture of Innovation
A strong innovation culture can transform organizations—seeding a first-mover mindset that empowers teams to discover whole new ways of thinking. Guests discuss strategies to develop mindsets and create spaces where team members feel comfortable to explore, the project management ... Show More
31m 20s
Jan 2025
Challenging the Status Quo: How Innovation Drives Growth in a Construction Business
In the competitive construction industry, innovation plays a crucial role in driving growth and success. Construction companies can differentiate themselves by adopting creative strategies, such as managing material supply chains and cultivating solid, business-like relationships ... Show More
40m 9s
Feb 2023
Fearless Innovation
Alex Goryachev discusses his book "Fearless Innovation" and ways to go beyond the buzzword to drive growth and enact change. Alex is Innovator-in-Residence at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Tulane University. Prior to that he was the Managing Director of Global ... Show More
24m 15s
Apr 29
HR Works Podcast: Unleashing Innovation with Creativity, Strategy, and Leadership (Part 1)
In today's fast-paced business world, traditional leadership models often fall short. Tune in as we dive into the groundbreaking concepts of "Layered Leadership" with Lawrence Armstrong, Chairman of Ware Malcomb and author of the new book of the same name. In this episode of HR W ... Show More
11m 3s