Clayton M. Christensen

Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; Founder, Innosight Ventures; Co-founder, Rose Park Advisors

At 6’10” Clayton Christensen literally stands head and shoulders above the crowd, but that is a minor reason for why he commands attention.  His list of accomplishments is what impresses--Rhodes scholar, Harvard MBA, best-selling author of five books, including a masterpiece, The Innovator’s Dilemma, and a venture capitalist.  A humble and spirited man, Clayton Christensen is a renowned influencer in the business world, but not so much in education policy.  But because his theories and models on “disruptive innovation” give education reformers great confidence, he’s made our list.  His important book, Disrupting Class, is one of PCM’s Top 10 Books for Parents. 

For many years now business leaders, including giants like Gates and Buffet, have contended with disruptive innovation in their industries, and many believe it’s time for disruption in the education system, so that America’s labor force isn’t left behind. 

Christensen, whose expertise is econometrics, is the son of teachers, the spouse of a teacher, and a teacher himself.  He says these personal connections to the life of schools and teaching affect his thinking.  He has studied the education data, plugged the numbers into his models, and forecast when disruptive technologies will cause a “breathtaking flip” in public education.  This flip, he says, will start in 2012 and be completed by 2019.  He didn’t write the reformers playbook, but his ideas are in there.

-- Go to PCM's Top 10 Influencers List --