The Disruptive Voice – Details, episodes & analysis

Five years ago, Darius Shahida, a member of the HBS Class of 2019, joined us in the podcast studio to discuss how Butterfly Network, a disruptive startup where he was employed as Chief Growth Officer, was working to revolutionize the ultrasound industry. Now, as the company's Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Business Development Officer, he joins his former BSSE professor, Derek van Bever, to reflect on Butterfly Network's entrepreneurial journey over the last half decade. Since Darius was last on the podcast, the company has gone public; has successfully commercialized the world's first semiconductor-based, whole-body, single-probe digital ultrasound device; has introduced its second generation device, Butterfly iQ+, along with new advances on the AI and software side of the business; and Butterfly has significantly expanded its market of users, with a presence in over 100 countries through commercial sales or global health deployments. In this conversation, Darius highlights these developments and also reflects on how the BSSE frameworks have helped to inform the company's emergent strategy over the years. As a hybrid disruptor - both a low end and a new market disruption - Butterfly Network's growth is fascinating to observe. Listen to learn about the company's enabling technology and disruptive business model, the promise of artificial intelligence, the different types of Butterfly customers (and the ramifications of that for strategy, particularly when competing against non-consumption), the company's vision for the future of ultrasound, and more!

In this episode, Amy Edmondson, sharing insights from her new book, Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, reminds listeners, "The most successful among us have not failed less often than the rest of us. They’ve failed more often – right kind of wrong failures." Hosted by Scott Anthony, the two engage in a fascinating conversation covering a myriad of topics, including the origin of the idea of psychological safety; the different types of failures, and why they matter; parallels between innovation and riding a bike; and the "Sliding Doors" moments in our lives. Amy also reflects on the distinction between environments where one is there to learn versus perform; the emotional challenges of innovation; right kind of wrong in the context of parenting; and the process that she undertook in writing the book, to cite but a few examples. We’re all going to get things wrong in our professional and personal lives, but resilience and learning through intelligent failures is an important part of the journey. Listen to learn more! 

Radiology touches around 80% of all hospital and health system visits, impacting nearly every specialty in medicine. However, the incumbent radiology IT system infrastructure places the promise and power of AI out of reach for practitioners. Though radiology has historically been on the cutting edge of technological advancements in medicine, e.g. in terms of digitization, radiology is now stuck in a technological gridlock, a situation in which each modular component of the tech stack works well enough but where the system as a whole is failing to sufficiently support physicians, who are experiencing high levels of burnout, and their patients. Working to enhance both the quantity and quality of work that radiologists can deliver, Sirona Medical is driving the shift away from modular gridlock to an interdependent system, employing AI to amplify the value of radiology to downstream care. In this episode, Cameron Andrews, Founder & CEO of Sirona Medical, joins Spencer Christensen to discuss the cloud-native unified workflow software they're working to build, along with its applications. The two consider the history of radiology; the challenges and opportunities of both the present day and on the healthcare horizon; how Sirona Medical is reimagining the system’s underlying architecture; and more. Cameron believes that Modularity Theory is going to be the most important business framework in healthcare over the next decade. Listen to learn more about why and how he and his team at Sirona Medical are committed to elevating the field of radiology! 

In this episode, Craig Mackintosh, Head of User Experience Research at LinkedIn, reflects on how the Jobs To Be Done framework has been used at the company to provide strategic focus. He joins David Duncan, co-author with Clayton Christensen on Competing Against Luck and author of The Secret Lives of Customers, to discuss how the team at LinkedIn has drawn on Jobs Theory to unlock innovation through a better understanding of the functional, social, and emotional Jobs had by its members and customers. In using the Jobs To Be Done framework, LinkedIn has been able to take steps towards the implementation of a common language across its many teams, has made more intentional choices around which Jobs they’re solving for and why, and has found increased success in both articulating LinkedIn’s value to its customers and in capturing opportunities for growth and innovation. Listen to learn more about the pilot studies that were undertaken; some of the Jobs that were uncovered in asking, “Why do people post on LinkedIn?”; how the team got buy-in from employees and incorporated Jobs into the company’s culture; and the challenges and opportunities that presented themselves along the way.

Christina Wallace wrote The Portfolio Life: How To Future-Proof Your Career, Avoid Burnout, and Build a Life Bigger Than Your Business Card, in part, to explain the zig zagging path of her own life, a trajectory that has been markedly different than the more linear and predefined paths often followed by those in earlier generations. The accelerating pace of change, along with one societal disruption after the next, has resulted in ever more uncertainty about what the future holds and translates into the need for an emergent strategy for one’s life. The beauty of the model presented in The Portfolio Life is that it provides readers with a practical guide on how to be more intentional and strategic about the actions we take, particularly during times of transition, and it allows us to rebalance allocations when our needs inevitably change. In this conversation, hosted by Katie Zandbergen, Christina reflects on parallels between The Portfolio Life and How Will You Measure Your Life; the importance of having an identity separate from your job title; our oftentimes flawed metrics of success; why she thinks of herself as a human Venn diagram, and the value that can be found at the intersection of those overlapping circles; the promise of diagonal thinking; and more. Listen to learn about how practitioners of The Portfolio Life model gain optionality, flexibility, and diversification in their lives, resulting in greater stability in the face of the many unknowns and changing circumstances that we all will face in navigating the waters – both personal and professional – of our lives.

After a shocking accident left Rebecca Fogg with a partially amputated hand, she found herself faced with the sudden and daunting challenge of recovering, both physically and psychologically, from the trauma. Though her background at the time was not in medicine, she hired – in the language of the Jobs To Be Done framework – the pursuit of scientific knowledge to help heal and to make progress in her life. That search for knowledge, intertwined with her personal experiences on the journey to recovery, inspired Becca to write Beautiful Trauma: An Explosion, An Obsession, And A New Lease on Life. Over the last decade, Becca has worked at the intersection of business innovation and healthcare delivery. In this conversation, hosted by Ann Somers Hogg, she shares the story of Beautiful Trauma and also delves into what can be learned from the ordeal, in terms of insights for healthcare innovators. The two discuss health as being the product of many drivers, therefore necessitating the implementation of collaborative initiatives across sectors, along with system engagement at both the level of communities and the individual. Becca provides a number of great examples of successful cross-sector integration initiatives, in both the United States and England, and also considers takeaways from these programs for the broader healthcare ecosystem. Drawing on her lived experience of trauma, this insightful conversation includes Becca’s reflections on opportunities for innovation in healthcare; the challenges of navigating the healthcare system when we have the least capacity to do so; our sometimes misguided perceptions of resilience; different coping mechanisms; the importance of formal and informal support systems; and so much more!

Currently, over 75% of American households don’t have access to high quality, affordable, and unbiased financial advice. Anders Jones co-founded Facet in order to make these financial planning services available to a large population of people who don't qualify to receive them under existing incumbent business models. In other words, Facet is a prime example of a new market disruption, with the company largely competing against the non-consumption of financial advice. Taking this approach, however, wasn’t how the Facet story began when it initially entered the market, which exemplifies the emergent strategy utilized by the company that allowed for Facet’s pivot to its current strategy. In this conversation, hosted by Chris Calder, Anders reflects on how he’s using the frameworks to build and scale his enterprise, including the enabling technology that, paired with Facet’s business model, allows the company to profitably serve customers who are uninteresting to incumbents in the space. The two also discuss where Anders intends to take Facet in the future, redefining financial planning and advice and working to more fully integrate wealth management into their customers’ daily lives. Listen to learn more about how Facet is creating a new market and also changing the discussion around what it means to work with a financial advisor - a great example of Clay's theories in action!

In his book, Undisruptable: A Mindset of Permanent Reinvention for Individuals, Organizations, and Life, Aidan McCullen writes about how, centuries ago, sailors would set out to sea with maps labelled with the Latin words hic sun dracones - here be dragons - which meant that they didn't know much - if anything - about the uncharted waters and unexplored lands that awaited them. In today's volatile and uncertain world, there are parallels to be drawn between the odysseys of past and present. There are also strategies that can be employed, both by corporations and by individuals, to thrive amidst challenging circumstances, and they center on the intentional development of a mindset of permanent reinvention. Aidan himself exemplifies this mindset, having built capabilities as a professional rugby player, a digital media specialist, an innovation and change consultant, a professor at Trinity College Dublin, and host of The Innovation Show podcast, where he's in the midst of a three month series dedicated to the life, work, and theories of Clayton Christensen. In this Disruptive Voice episode, he joins Katie Zandbergen to discuss the experience of putting the series together, including not only re-reading all of Clay's books but also having in-depth conversations with his co-authors; the necessity of building capabilities before we need them; lessons we can learn from immortal jellyfish; insights gleaned from making the time to read eclectically; finding assets in ashes; and, above all, the importance of facing the dragons in our lives and of always becoming - the concept of permanent reinvention.   

In the introduction of The Innovator's Dilemma, first published in 1997, Clayton Christensen wrote that the book "is about well-managed companies that have their competitive antennae up, listen astutely to their customers, invest aggressively in new technologies, and yet still lose market dominance." Years later, the dilemma is as relevant and as challenging as ever. In this episode of The Disruptive Voice, host and guest take a fascinating and deep dive into the book - and they do so as the first in a series of episodes on The Innovation Show that are dedicated to the life, work, and theories of Clayton Christensen. Specifically, host of The Innovation Show, Aidan McCullen, has kindly supported the re-release of his inspiring conversation with Clay's son, CEO & Managing Partner at Rose Park Advisors, Matt Christensen. Drawing on insights from Disruption Theory, along with a number of other theories developed by Clay and his collaborators over the years, listen to learn more about how, in Aidan's words, executives can simultaneously do what's right for the near-term health of their established businesses while also focusing adequate resources on the innovations that could ultimately lead to their downfalls - The Innovator’s Dilemma! 

Jobs Theory, when correctly applied, has the potential to be a huge unlock for organizations that have yet to realize the full value from their agile transformations. In order to benefit from the full potential of the Jobs To Be Done framework, a systems lens is required in its application. In this episode, Innosight’s Alasdair Trotter joins host Katie Zandbergen to discuss the challenges and opportunities that arise when trying to build more customer-centric and agile organizations. The conversation covers many of the ways in which Jobs Theory can be used to strengthen different aspects of the enterprise operating model, from strategy development to modern product and portfolio management. The discussion also includes a variety of insights about how Jobs Theory can bring more focus to enterprise strategy, overcome solution bias when developing and managing products, and improve the prioritization of strategy goals, as well as specific features. In short, listen to this insightful conversation to learn more about Jobs Theory as a powerful tool for addressing many of the challenges faced by modern product organizations!