HBR's 10 Must Reads: The Essentials

by Clayton M. Christensen, Michael Overdorf, Thomas H. Davenport, Peter F. Drucker, Daniel

Goleman, Robert S. Kaplan, David P. Norton, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, John P. Kotter, Theodore
Levitt, Michael E. Porter, C.K. Prahalad, Gary Hamel
153 pages.  Publication date: Mar 20, 2009. Prod. #: 13292-PDF-ENG

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If you read nothing else, read these 10 articles from HBR's most influential authors: 1) "Meeting
the Challenge of Disruptive Change," by Clayton M. Christensen and Michael Overdorf,
explains why so few established companies innovate successfully. 2) "Competing on Analytics,"
by Thomas H. Davenport, explains how to use data-collection technology and analysis to discern
what your customers want, how much they're willing to pay, and what keeps them loyal. 3)
"Managing Oneself," by Peter F. Drucker, encourages us to carve our own paths by asking
questions such as, "What are my strengths?" and "Where do I belong?" 4) "What Makes a
Leader?" Not IQ or technical skills, says Daniel Goleman, but emotional intelligence. 5) "Putting
the Balanced Scorecard to Work," by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, includes practical
steps and examples from companies that use the balanced scorecard to measure performance and
set strategy. 6) "Innovation: The Classic Traps," by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, advocates applying
lessons from past failures to your innovation efforts. She explores four problems and offers
remedies for each. 7) "Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail," by John P. Kotter,
argues that transformation is a process, not an event. It takes years, not weeks, and you can't skip
any steps. 8) "Marketing Myopia," by Theodore Levitt, introduces the quintessential strategy
question, "What business are you really in?" 9) "What Is Strategy?" by Michael E. Porter, argues
that rivals can easily copy your operational effectiveness, but they can't copy your strategic
positioning--what distinguishes you from all the rest. 10) "The Core Competence of the
Corporation," by C.K. Prahalad and Gary Hamel, argues that a diversified company is like a tree:
the trunk and major limbs its core products, branches its business units, leaves and fruit its end
products. Nourishing and stabilizing everything is the root system: its core competencies.

HBR Article Collections save you time by synthesizing and distilling the essence of selected
Harvard Business Review articles that, together, help you meet a specific management challenge.
One-page overviews draw out the main points. Annotated bibliographies point you to related
resources. Includes original HBR articles.