Lead and Disrupt

Fully revised, this second edition offers a proven strategy for using ambidexterity to build discontinuous growth for mature organizations, and the flexibility to adapt in fast-changing environments.

Why do successful firms find it so difficult to adapt in the face of change – to innovate? In the past ten years, the importance of this question has increased as more industries and firms confront disruptive change. The pandemic has accelerated this crisis, collapsing the structures of industries from airlines and medicine to online retail and commercial real estate. Today, leaders in business have an obligation not only to investors but to their employees and communities. At the core of this challenge is helping their organizations to survive in the face of change.

The original edition summarized the lessons that the authors as researchers and consultants had learned over the previous two decades. Since then, they have continued to work with leaders of organizations around the world confronting disruptive change. With updates to every chapter, including new examples and analysis, this fully revised edition incorporates the lessons and insights that the authors have gained in the past five years. Two new chapters critically examine the role of organizational culture in promoting or hindering ambidexterity and its underlying fundamental disciplines. Using examples from firms such as Microsoft, General Motors, and Amazon, O'Reilly and Tushman illustrate how leaders can align their organization's cultures to fit the needed strategy, and how ideation, incubation, and scaling approaches, when used altogether, can successfully develop new growth businesses.

Charles A. O'Reilly III is Frank E. Buck Professor of Management at Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is also the co-director of Leading Change and Organizational Renewal. He is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Distinguished Scholar Award by the Academy of Management and the Organizational Behavior Division Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. Michael L. Tushman is Baker Foundation Professor, Paul R. Lawrence MBA Class of 1942 Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus, and Charles B. (Tex) Thorton Chair of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. He is also the co-director of Leading Change and Organizational Renewal. He is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Distinguished Scholar Award by the Academy of Management and the Organization and Management Theory Division Lifetime Achievement Award.

"O'Reilly and Tushman address eloquently and practically the universal problem leadersof mature organizations face—of how to maximize an established business while simultaneouslyembracing disruptiveinnovation to buildthe future business. This book will be your wisdom-filled companion as you re-shape your business." —Alex Freudmann, Managing Director, Dan Murphy's, Melbourne, Australia

"The concepts and ideas in Lead and Disrupt provided valuable guidance for how we approached the transformation of AGC. It helped us understand how to implement ambidexterity and deal with the disruption our business is facing." —Takuya Shimamura, Former CEO and Chairman, AGC (Asahi Glass Company)

"Lead and Disrupt is a must-read for any legacy company or startup. Disruption is a constant, and companies must have a passion for growth in a volatile world. This book gives you a framework. The concepts around ideation, incubation and scaling are fresh and well documented. More importantly, I have seen them work in companies large and small." —Jeff Immelt, former Chairman and CEO, General Electric

"This book will do for companies what the Lean Methodology did for startups—give its leaders the essential playbook for how to transform your organization to meet the future." —Steve Blank, author of The Four Steps to the Epiphany: Successful Strategies for Products that Win

"In an unprecedented way Lead and Disrupt unveils the secrets of ambidextrous leadership and the power of company culture as competitive advantage. A must-read for every leader aiming to build an enduring enterprise." —Erik Ceuppens, CEO, Marlink Group