It is not often that you read a book that simply makes sense, and Tim Wu

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strings together a series of events evocative of the old “connections” TV show. Tim paints a picture of the difficulties that companies have cannibalizing current product lines and products in favor of the next big thing. By using AT&T and other companies throughout his book, you can see how difficult it would be for a manager to back the unproven “next big thing” when the current product set is still making tons of money and is very profitable. The picture that he portrays shows that companies are naturally disinclined to support technologies, processes, and ideas that are disruptive to profitable products.

We can see this with Microsoft struggling with Cloud Computing, and the Music and Movie industries having such a difficult time moving to a viable digital model in the internet era. The music industry has railed against every change in technology since the player piano and sheet music saying that it would decimate sales, only to find a working economic model that would allow them to be successful selling sheet music and player piano roles. This book will leave anyone transfixed, and has information for people who are familiar with disruptive technologies as a product line as well as general people who have an interest in how disruptive ideas eventually work their way into the mainstream, even it takes 40 some odd years as it did with the voice message machine that we take for granted today.

This book is truly 5 of 5 stars, I sat down and read it in one sitting unable to put it down. Well worth reading for all levels of interest from managers to employees, nonprofessionals to experts there is something here for everyone. Tim writes an eloquent book about technology, corporate and business model disruption, and why companies have a hard time working with disruptive ideas that might not be the next big thing. Moreover Tim points out why a disruptive idea might be more suited to smaller companies who can afford high risks, rather than a tried and true blue company that has different ideas of business lines and profit models.

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