The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations out of Poverty

I wish we could magically deliver this powerful book to the nightstands of political and business leaders worldwide. The Prosperity Paradox brings the insightful theories of Dr. Clay Christensen to bear on the world’s most challenging issues that impact billions of people. It offers a positive, hopeful view of how focusing on market-creating innovations can transform institutions, cultures and countries.I found the history lessons in American economic development (Singer, Eastman, Ford, Giannini) fascinating, as well as parallel examples in Asia. The authors research is profound and compelling, yet very easy and pleasurable to consume over a few sittings.While this book keeps its focus on global opportunities, I’m inspired by how the authors thinking could be applied locally, to struggling communities within my country. (U.S.) This is hinted at in the Appendix - Disney in Detroit. The notion of fostering pull rather than push is very powerful, as is the focus on non-consumption.Whether you are new to the theories of Disruptive Innovation and Jobs to be Done, or well-acquainted with them, this is an important book that should be at the top of your 2019 reading list.

The authors did a GREAT job in tackling a difficult problem, namely how to tackle poverty and create long-term economic and social prosperity. The Prosperity Paradox team's answer is simple, yet powerful: even if it sounds counterintuitive, enduring prosperity for less developed countries will not come from fixing poverty, but rather from investing in innovations that create new markets within these countries.The book is effective in spelling out support for its thesis. Starting with the idea that every nation has the potential for extraordinary growth - what the authors call "nonconsumption" - the book goes on to detail examples where nations (e.g. Singapore, South Korea, Japan) and innovative organizations (e.g. Aravind in India, Celtel throughout much of Africa, etc.) have taken advantage of this potential. What the authors do so well, however, is not just to list out examples of innovative companies and policies, but rather to devise a complete framework based on those successful examples listed that can in turn be replicated in other cases. For instance, the authors argue that infrastructure development should be pulled in alongside to support a market-developing innovation rather than pushed down via institutions in the absence of that innovation, go on to list positive examples, and then analyze exactly why pulling worked better than pushing. In developing their framework for how nations can aim towards prosperity, the authors are doing policymakers a great favor.Another aspect which I appreciated about the Prosperity Paradox was the intuition and empathy with which the researchers approached development. Take the chapter on corruption, for instance. The authors argue that corruption can often times accompany development simply because, in some situations, it can meet people's needs and their desire for progress better than legal means. If policymakers can focus on offering their populations alternatives that are more attractive than corruption (e.g. jobs that pay sufficient money, upward mobility, etc.), then those states would have a chance to tackle corruption long-term. This stands in stark contrast to common belief that simply investing in strict anti-corruption initiatives or electing governments that promise to end corruption will in fact end that corruption.Most importantly, though, the authors profess hope for nations in poverty. As they state in the last chapter, the authors believe that the Prosperity Paradox can become a Prosperity Process that is sustained by a continuous commitment to innovation. The examples in the appendix only provide more hope of a brighter future, as we can witness entrepreneurs all around the globe working with limited resources in different, challenging environments to solve the real problems faced by people daily.On this basis, it's not hard to see why The Prosperity Paradox is currently an Amazon best seller.

The book is about how countries can come out of poverty. The authors cite several example: South Korea, Japan and US. However, the biggest and most profound economic transformation of the past 100 years is completely overlooked. CHINA? The book misses this elephant in the room. The rise of china out of poverty to become an economic superpower has not followed the trajectory the authors propose. Equally important is India, which only find a passing mention. While the book is readable, it lacks depth and seems more like a business book.

The authors did a great job providing a new lens for development practitioners like myself to view the work that is being done in development. It also gave me a number of reasons why I should potentially quit my day job and become an entrepreneur! The idea that market creating innovations is in fact the underlying driver of economic development is very compelling and development agencies should keep this in mind while designing their initiatives for the communities they serve. International development has proven to be a slow moving industry and I applaud the efforts of Clay Christensen and Efosa Ojomo at the Christensen Institute in their efforts to get ideas out there to start a conversation. While there are many valuable initiatives that alleviate poverty, the underlying question should be "how can we create prosperity?". Great read!

This book is full of insightful ideas about how to promote prosperity by focusing on positive actions. It is such an easy read, too! This is a must-read for students and teachers of development and of innovation, for practitioners in government and industry as well as for anyone who just wants a meaningful, fun, and easy read.

Clayton Christensen is one of the most influential writers about business leadership living today. His seminal work in The Innovator's Dilemma continues to influence leaders who seek to grow economic activity in the developing work far more effectively than conscience-salving, but ineffective grant-making.

This book enlightens our world by fueling innovation. Don't fight against what you hate, instead fight FOR what you do want.

This book is a love letter to the world telling us how we can create our own prosperity for ourselves and for others. The framework is not built on science but on human invention so it will surely evolve but for our time, it is one of the most important books for all to read.

Just finished a genuinely transformative and perspective-shifting book called ‘The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of Poverty’ by Clayton Christensen, Efosa Ojomo, and Karen Dillon. They challenged many assumptions I had about the necessity of good governance and infrastructure prior to economic growth and development. They flipped the question from how to eliminate poverty to how to create prosperity. They came to the answer of market-creating innovations (MCIs).If you've known me for awhile, you know that I have a heart for other cultures and am fascinated by new technology, startups, emerging markets, and developing nations. The sheer potential for market and value-creation through entrepreneurship and innovation is incredible due to the talent in these countries and so much untapped opportunity. It's part of why I joined CEO & Founder Mark Sears at CloudFactory 2.5 years ago and moved to the UK. CloudFactory's mission is to help 1M people become leaders worth following by providing digital work in developing nations (like Nepal and Kenya). I've seen so much talent from the teams and people I've interacted with in Nepal and Kenya. Genuinely incredible people. Like other impact-focused companies working in developing nations, we believe talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not. We're using technology to bring opportunity to really talented people. I digress. Back to the book.This genuinely is an incredible book that I strongly encourage you to read if you have an interest in how nations develop, charity in developing nations, how innovation can be used to increase prosperity and decrease poverty, how innovation can combat corruption, etc. There are so many reasons to read this book. I've tried to give a sampler appetiser of the full course meal of innovation wisdom and insight that's available to anyone that chooses to read 'The Prosperity Paradox.' Enjoy!<a href=https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-strategy-fight-poverty-elijah-elkins/>Click Here for Full Review!</a>

I often remember the old tale of two American shoe salesmen who were independently sent to a poor country to assess the potential for shoes. The country was so poor that hardly anyone wore shoes. One salesman would cable back “No one wears shoes; no potential.” The other salesman is excited. His message reads “No one wears shoes; immense potential.” He goes on to add “They grow the best pineapples on earth. Buy pineapples here, sell them at home, and sell shoes to the entire population here.” This is what I would call the difference in mindsets of a bureaucrat (all bean counters included) and an entrepreneur (many stereo type marketers excluded!). This book is for the salesman who can sell anything to anyone who is a non-consumer. Taking a cue from the legendary Prof CK Prahalad, this book is about untapping the potential of ‘Fortune at the bottom of the Pyramid’. This book is also about a means of realizing Gandhiji’s dream of ‘Wiping Every Tear from Every Eye’.The book starts with a counter intuitive hypothesis that the direct investment on widely acclaimed poverty alleviation projects like providing free health care, clean drinking water, infrastructure and schools has not delivered results. In fact, data suggests that scores of countries like Burundi, Gambia and Malawi are worse off. On the other hand, countries like South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan are prosperous nations today, despite having been flattened by bombs. The difference, the authors argue, is Market Creating Innovations, that were targeted at non consumers. Our second salesman approach!Prof Christensen introduced the concept of ‘Disruptive Innovation’ in his path breaking book ‘The Innovators Dilemma’ in 1997; perhaps the most important framework on innovation till date. He clearly defines Innovation and explains that most big corporations focus on ‘Sustaining Innovation' which is about moving up the functionality curve, premiumisation and higher margins, and ceding low end products to smaller players. Disruptive Innovation is about creating a new dimension of functionality, and perhaps even sacrificing existing ones to levels that are ‘good enough’. The Personal Computer, the Walkman etc are products that opened huge markets to non-consumers, with lower prices and new features like smaller size and mobility.In this book, the authors exploit the potential of Market Creating Innovations (Disruptive in nature) that create a Pull from the non-consumers, that are profitable, and market driven and hence sustainable. To serve new markets and new consumers, it is argued that we need new business models (low margins with high volumes and high penetration for example). These new markets in turn would create new jobs, and over a period of time bring in multiplier effects across adjacencies and create vibrant value chains. Social transformation follows, since people begin to find Value in market driven innovations. Institutions and policies would be a pull from citizens, and the government is a cheer leader and catalyst in enacting laws and building new institutions.Governments in developing countries have no business to run businesses. Led by bureaucrats, they literally run and ruin even gold mines. This book shows us the way to transform the status quo and lead developing countries into prosperity.The concept of hiring products and services for ‘Jobs to be Done’ to help us be better off in a given situation is at the core of the conceptual framework.The chapters explain that in developing countries, over a period, the deep-rooted inefficiencies, corruption, and institutional failures shall be automatically eliminated if we adopt this approach. USA today is a great example in its transition from the Nineteenth Century till date. Henry Ford created a mass market for cars (targeting all American citizens who were once poor), and the rest as they say is history.Case studies from India include Narayana Health and Aravind Eye Hospitals. These great institutions offer valuable processes that can be taken back to developed markets to offer affordable health care globally. (‘Reverse Innovation in Health Care’ by Prof Vijay Govindarajan is a great read on this topic).Finally, economic prosperity alone cannot ensure happiness. South Korea for example has the highest suicide rates and hospitalization for mental illness, despite its achievements. Quoting Robert Kennedy ‘GDP doesn’t register the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages or the intelligence of our public debate…. GDP measures everything except that which makes life worthwhile’.Let us remember to preserve core social values and the wisdom of this great nation in this glorious journey. ‘Sarve Jana Sukhino Bhavanthu’ meaning ‘Let the entire world be happy’. This would certainly put a smile on Gandhiji’s face.JAI HIND.

This book changes my whole perception of innovation.A must read.

Very interesting book about targeting the non consumption

Here is the key paradigm authors put forth as Nations' route to prosperity. Innovation directed at non-consuming population would spur socio-economic development, through multiplier effect as its impact span economic activities across several sectors including logistics, infrastructure and financial services. Further the infrastructure, both social and physical that gets created to serve the new set of economic activities is likely to be more sustainable as its upkeep would be better taken care of by the beneficiaries by paying directly for use or indirectly through taxes.As string advocate of Innovation and with vast body of work behind him in this field, Clayton along with his co-authors, has brought out role of innovation in spurring the overall development of the country in an emphatic manner, supported by good number of illustrative cases. However, innovation focusing on tapping non-consumption segment, as single dominant factor contributing to difference in prosperity levels between South Korea (who focused on market creating innovations) and Mexico (who focused on efficiency innovations) looks far-fetched.Besides, not every innovation focused at non-consumption market is successful- take example of Nano, which was positioned at rural market two wheeler riders who cannot afford full-priced traditional car. Similarly, infrastructure directed at efficiency gains are as sustainable as those created to serve new markets or deliver to new customers (pull strategy). In fact most of the flyovers or bypass in cities are paid for by common commuters or funded by governments as it saves them travel time which may be used for any purpose, including using part of saved time for generating economic outcomes. China has traditionally created infrastructure first and then invited economic players than the other-way round!Most of the examples talk about the entrepreneur who came up with product or service that came up with the idea that targeted non-consumption segment, and then how it turned out to be a big success at a scale that created huge social and economic surplus for the society. While entrepreneurs may have their own motivation to grow and distinct approach to meeting with challenges en-route to scale (through multi-directional integration for example), national governments have role to play in cultivating entrepreneurs and minimizing impediments to their growth.Hands-off approach by government in early stages of market creation may create monopolies or wrongful practices that would cost societies too dear later. At the same-time China hybrid approach of mixing of support and vigilance for the start-ups through often direct stake, is a delicate balance, with mixed outcomes. It is with respect to the role of Government in supporting prosperity process that needs greater clarity.Book does a great job of providing guidelines on how to identify non-consumption markets and supports this with sample of such opportunities in Appendix that can make any entrepreneur or marketer think of possibilities that are normally not so obvious.While book remind development practitioners and economists on the importance of supporting more market creating innovations, it would be great read for entrepreneurs and business strategists, struggling to identify opportunities that holds immense potential for growth, impact and prosperity for self, organizations and nations.