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About Ann Christensen
Ann Christensen is president and CEO of the Clayton Christensen Institute, the nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank founded on the theories of her father, the late Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen. She directs the Institute's strategic and operational development and oversees its research programs in business, education, health care and economic prosperity. Under her leadership, the Institute has established a visiting fellows program, expanded its education work to include higher education and added a global prosperity division.
Her argument to audiences is that disruptive innovation, a concept executives already accept and endure in the business world, has just as much power in the social sector. Applying the theory of disruptive innovation and the Jobs to Be Done framework, which focuses on the outcomes customers are trying to achieve rather than on improving existing products, she shows how policymakers, community leaders and innovators can widen access to health care and education. Her health care talks examine models such as retail clinics, which deliver fast, flexible, lower-cost care, and ask leaders directly: will you be the disruptor or the disrupted?
Ann's Keynote Topics
In the corporate sector, disruptive innovation is a familiar concept that executives commonly embrace to shape their business models, guide research and development goals, and plan for the future. But it’s not just corporations that must prepare for disruption – disruptive innovation can also be a positive force for addressing many of society’s most pressing problems, such as increasing access to health care and education. For example, retail clinics – Walgreen’s TakeCare and CVS’s MinuteClinic – are granting access to more affordable, convenient health care and wellness services. As president of the Clayton Christensen Institute, Ann Christensen draws on years of the Institute’s research to explain how policy makers, community leaders and innovators can work together to solve big-picture challenges by distilling and promoting the transformational power of disruptive innovation.
If we continue to debate how to reform the current health care system, we’ll never reach the end goal of providing affordable, accessible care. Instead of focusing on ways to afford expensive hospitals and medical specialists’ and technicians’ salaries, the conversation must shift to how to promote disruptive innovations that can change the health care system. Today, while tools and technologies that empower patients to take control of their own health and wellness are readily available, most care is still delivered by expensive practitioners in costly health care facilities. Ann Christensen goes beyond framing the problem to explain how enabling innovative technologies with profound disruptive potential can actually make health care more affordable and accessible. Applying the principles of disruptive innovation, she shares how to decrease costs while improving both the quality and convenience of care.
The 21st century is one of the most exciting eras for health care, with new technologies and policies creating opportunities for big industry players and new entrants alike. However, we have yet to solve one of the biggest problems in health care: how to get care to patients when they need it. One emerging model that holds promise is the idea of retail clinics – they’re fast, flexible, cheap and deliver high-quality care. While they still represent a relatively small share of health care spending, after brisk growth over the past decade retail clinics have the potential to genuinely threaten the primary care establishment. Translating lessons on innovation from other industries, Ann Christensen outlines opportunities for innovators to address patients’ and providers’ “jobs to be done,” the challenges of fitting new technologies into existing systems and regulations, and why those who don’t plan for the opportunities and challenges ahead will be left behind.
Ann in the Media
In Theory With Ann Christensen, CEO of the Clayton Christensen Institute
The Disruptive Voice's 100th Episode - Anomalies Wanted
To Transform Lives, Transform Business Models: A Conversation with Ann Somers Hogg and Ann Christensen
Improving The World Through Disruptive Innovation: A Conversation with Ann Christensen
Improving The World Through Disruptive Innovation: A Conversation with Ann Christensen
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