Clayton Christensen

Clayton Christensen
Name	Clayton Christensen
Caption	Christensen in 2011
Birth date	6 April 1952
Birth place	Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Death date	23 January 2020
Death place	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Education	Brigham Young University (BA), University of Oxford (MPhil), Harvard Business School (MBA, DBA)
Occupation	Academic, business consultant, author
Known for	Disruptive innovation, The Innovator's Dilemma
Employer	Harvard Business School
Spouse	Christine

Clayton Christensen was an influential American academic and management thinker best known for his theory of disruptive innovation. A longtime professor at Harvard Business School, his work fundamentally reshaped corporate strategy and understanding of technological change. His seminal book, The Innovator's Dilemma, earned him global recognition and established him as one of the world's leading authorities on innovation and growth.

Early Life and Education

Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, he was raised in a family with strong ties to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served as a missionary for the church in the Republic of Korea before attending Brigham Young University, where he graduated magna cum laude in economics. Awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, he earned an MPhil in applied econometrics from Oxford. He later returned to academia after a stint in consulting and manufacturing, completing an MBA and a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) at Harvard Business School, where he was a George F. Baker Scholar.

Career

Prior to his academic career, he worked as a consultant for the Boston Consulting Group and served as chairman and president of CPS Corporation, a materials technology firm. In 1992, he joined the faculty of Harvard Business School, where he held the Kim B. Clark Professorship of Business Administration. He also co-founded the consulting firm Innosight, the investment firm Rose Park Advisors, and the nonprofit Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation. His consulting and advisory work extended to numerous Fortune 500 companies and national governments.

Theories and Research

His most famous contribution is the theory of disruptive innovation, which describes how simpler, cheaper products or services can eventually overtake established market leaders. This concept was central to his analysis in The Innovator's Dilemma. He later expanded his research to other domains, developing theories such as "jobs to be done" to understand customer behavior, and applying his frameworks to fields like healthcare and education. His work on capitalism and investment strategies, including the concepts of "marginal cost" thinking and "capitalist's dilemma," sought to explain broader economic and social challenges.

Published Works

He authored or co-authored over a dozen books that elaborated on his research. His breakthrough work, The Innovator's Dilemma (1997), received the Global Business Book Award and was profoundly influential. Sequels included The Innovator's Solution and The Innovator's DNA. Other significant publications applied his theories to different sectors, such as Disrupting Class on education reform, The Innovator's Prescription on healthcare, and How Will You Measure Your Life?, which extended his ideas to personal fulfillment. His articles frequently appeared in Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, and Forbes.

Awards and Recognition

He received numerous accolades for his impact on business thought. In 2011, Forbes named him one of the "World's Most Influential Business Thinkers." He was awarded the Global Business Book Award for The Innovator's Dilemma. In 2017, he received the Edison Achievement Award for his contributions to innovation. His work earned him honorary doctorates from several universities, and he consistently ranked at the top of the Thinkers50 list of management gurus.

Personal Life and Legacy

He was a devoted member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in various lay leadership roles, including as a bishop. He was married to Christine, with whom he had five children. In 2010, he suffered a heart attack and was later diagnosed with follicular lymphoma and leukemia, battles he publicly discussed. He passed away in Boston in 2020 from complications of cancer. His legacy endures through his transformative theories, which continue to guide leaders in business, nonprofit organizations, and public policy worldwide.

Category:American business theorists Category:Harvard Business School faculty Category:1952 births Category:2020 deaths