Operating Principle

2–4 min read

Disruption Enters From Below, Where It Looks Unthreatening

Disruption Enters From Below, Where It Looks Unthreatening

Disruption Enters From Below, Where It Looks Unthreatening

The competitor that eventually kills you often starts looking too cheap or niche to matter.

The competitor that eventually kills you often starts looking too cheap or niche to matter.

The competitor that eventually kills you often starts looking too cheap or niche to matter.

Disruptive entrants improve on a new dimension until they meet mainstream needs.

Disruptive entrants improve on a new dimension until they meet mainstream needs.

Disruptive entrants improve on a new dimension until they meet mainstream needs.

Entrants rarely attack head-on. They enter where incumbents cede ground, inferior on traditional metrics but better on simplicity, price, or convenience. Dismissed by existing measures, they climb steadily into the mainstream.

Operating Question

What trade-off or assumption must be made explicit here?

What trade-off or assumption must be made explicit here?

What trade-off or assumption must be made explicit here?

Continue Reading

Main Journal

All entries

Return to the complete Operator Journal library.

Main Journal

All entries

Return to the complete Operator Journal library.

Next Observation

Next article

Keep moving through the field notes.

Open the next observation

Next Observation

Next article

Keep moving through the field notes.

Open the next observation

Why It Matters

Disruptive entrants improve on a new dimension until they meet mainstream needs.

Supporting Evidence

Clayton Christensen, “The Innovator’s Dilemma” and “The Innovator’s Solution”.

Research Notes

Treat as an operating heuristic and assess the applicable context, limits, and counterarguments.

Practical Actions

List dismissed competitors; identify the dimension they improve; reassess quarterly.