Eleven Disruptive Innovations that Changed the World

Let’s start with definitions. How do you distinguish innovation from disruption?

Innovation I define as something different that creates value. That difference could be something big, like hypersonic planes, or just day-to-day stuff that makes the world a little bit better.

Disruption is a subset of innovation. A disruptive innovation transforms what exists or creates what doesn’t by making the complicated simple or the expensive affordable. It fundamentally changes the basis of competition. Clay Christensen’s research showed that in these battles, being the market leader can actually be a liability.

You’ve written a lot about innovation. Why a history book now?

This book wasn’t actually my idea. I pitched an idea to my publisher based on my Leading Disruptive Change class at Tuck. My editor said, ‘Interesting, but what about doing a history of disruption?’ I had never done a history book before. So I thought, why not? 

And the timing turned out to be fortuitous. When I first learned about disruption 25 years ago, it was a narrow idea in high tech. Today, two-thirds of executives say they’re facing imminent disruption. It’s everywhere, but people still misuse the term. My hope was to clarify what disruption is—and what it isn’t.

How did you decide which 11 disruptions made the cut?

Like every book I’ve written, the final version was the third version. Early drafts were a jumble—some chapters on ideas, some on people. Friends told me the stories were great, the people less so. So I doubled down on the stories.

Some choices were obvious—the printing press, the Model T, the iPhone. Others came from wandering through the memory banks—Florence Nightingale, Julia Child. Honestly, I can’t tell you exactly why those two jumped out. They just had something really interesting in them.

And why 11? Because of Spinal Tap. You know, this one goes to 11. Certain people will get that. My kids did not.

If you had to pick three favorites?

Gunpowder, Julia Child, and the Ford Model T.

Gunpowder was the first chapter I wrote. Constantinople’s walls had stood for a thousand years, and in 1453 they fell in 47 days because of cannons powered by gunpowder. A friend read it and said, ‘That’s Nokia in 2007—impenetrable until the iPhone came along.’ That was the click moment: tell the story, then show the echo today.

The Model T is just super fun. It democratized mobility, bringing the price down from the equivalent of $30,000 to $6,000. But it also cast a shadow. In the 1920s, there was a battle for the streets: pedestrians were branded ‘jaywalkers’ and drivers called ‘flivver boobs.’ Anytime you can talk about jaywalkers and flivver boobs, it’s a good day.

And Julia Child—she’s my favorite. She wasn’t born a great chef; her first meal for her husband was brains, and it was a disaster. She failed her final exam at Le Cordon Bleu. Her book took ten years and three publishers. But she simplified French cooking so a normal person could do it. She was curious, customer-obsessed, collaborative, and relentless. Those are the ingredients for disruptive innovation.

Why do you think Julia Child matters so much in this story?

In 1950s America, if you wanted great French food, you got on an airplane. Julia said, no, you can make it in your kitchen. She simplified something complex, put it in a cookbook, and then on television.

She always imagined herself as the everyday cook. That’s why when you open Mastering the Art of French Cooking you see ingredients on one side and the recipe on the other. She collaborated with co-authors, handled near-death moments with publishers, and just got stuff done.

She proved disruption isn’t only about technology. Sometimes it’s about chocolate mousse.

You write that innovation “casts a shadow.” What do you mean by that?

Innovation always has a dark side. Cars created mobility, but also fatalities and battles for the streets. Inside organizations, disruption threatens power structures and makes people resist.

One of my favorite finds was King Edward VI’s 1548 ‘Proclamation Against Those That Doth Innovate.’ From today’s perspective it looks silly, but back then innovating meant questioning the king—or God. And that was dangerous.

Nobody writes proclamations like that now, but in companies, people still treat innovators as troublemakers. Every innovation has a light, but it casts a shadow too.

Looking across history, what lessons come up again and again?

Four stand out.

First, every story has heroes. Companies don’t innovate—people do. And it goes beyond individuals. Gutenberg didn’t do the printing press alone; he had a team and a financial backer. Pampers wasn’t Procter & Gamble; it was Vic Mills, Bob Duncan, and a team of dozens.

Second, innovation is predictably unpredictable. You can’t know exactly what will work, but certain behaviors—curiosity, collaboration, persistence—raise the odds.

Third, innovation casts a shadow. You must recognize costs as well as benefits.

And fourth, innovation takes patience and perseverance. Pampers took a decade of false starts before success. There are no overnight successes.

After living with these stories, what’s your main takeaway for leaders?

Innovation isn’t the job of the few—it’s the responsibility of the many. Every disruption comes down to people making choices. Leaders who encourage curiosity, empower experimentation, and show patience through the messy middle dramatically increase their odds.

Above all, you must be comfortable being uncomfortable—or you’ll never succeed.

To hear a full conversation with Scott Anthony, check out the Tuck Knowledge in Practice Podcast. Available anywhere podcasts are found.