8 Game-Changing Business Lessons I Learned from Clayton Christensen

Clayton Christensen changed the world with his theory of disruptive innovation, showing us how new ideas upend industries and create lasting change. His influence has been profound—not just in business but also in education and nonprofit leadership. I had the privilege of taking Clay’s class at Harvard Business School from January through May of 2016. His class was so popular and impactful that the same content was taught by three to four other professors concurrently—a trend that continues today, even after his passing. Colleagues at the Christensen Institute, including my friends Michael Horn, Julia Freeland Fisher, and Thomas Arnett, continue his legacy of research and thought leadership, applying his ideas to education, healthcare, and beyond. As a nonprofit leader building innovative schools, I’ve applied many of Clay’s frameworks to organize teams, structure interviews, refine financial models, and make strategic decisions.

Below are eight game-changing business insights I learned from him that have shaped my leadership journey.

1. Level 5 Leadership: Humility Over Ego

In Good to Great, Jim Collins describes Level 5 Leadership as a rare blend of humility and fierce resolve. Clay embodied this idea, demonstrating that great leadership isn’t about charisma but about consistently doing the hard work with integrity, purpose, and kindness. Level 5 leaders credit others, external factors, and even good luck for their organization’s success while taking full responsibility when things go wrong.

I’ve worked to apply this in my own leadership by acknowledging the collective effort behind my organizations—e.g. The Forest School: An Acton Academy, MENTOR Georgia, Chattahoochee Hills Charter—rather than positioning myself as a singular founder. Whether it’s recognizing my team’s hard work, being grateful for partners like Trilith who have supported our school, or celebrating those who paved the way before me, I make a conscious effort to share the credit. At the same time, when things don’t go well—whether it’s a miscommunication, a behavioral issue, or a subpar learning experience—I take ownership, work to make it right, and ensure we learn from it. What once felt frustrating now feels natural and more manageable. Each experience provides valuable insights into our organization’s needs and deepens my understanding of my own leadership.

2. Assessing Capabilities: Resources, Processes, and Priorities

Clay’s Resources, Processes, and Priorities (RPP) framework helped me understand how organizations succeed—or fail—at innovation. Many leaders assume that the capabilities that make their organization successful in one context will translate to another, but Christensen showed that an organization’s strengths often become its weaknesses when faced with change. By breaking down capabilities into resources (tangible assets), processes (how things get done), and priorities (what gets attention), Clay provided a roadmap for leaders to assess whether their teams were positioned to tackle new challenges. Somehow, this lesson has also helped me recognize that neither I nor our team are the organization itself. This distinction has made it easier to pivot, adapt, and make necessary changes without feeling personally tied to or constrained by the existing structure, allowing for healthier, more strategic decision-making.

I used this framework to restructure teams across different parts of our organization. It helped me see that while we had strong resources—talented people and supportive partnerships—our processes weren’t always aligned for growth. By recognizing which internal systems needed to change and ensuring our priorities reflected the direction we wanted to go, we were able to scale more effectively.

3. Shaping Organizational Culture Through New Challenges

Christensen taught that culture is not just about values or mission statements; it is the accumulated history of how an organization has solved problems. The way a team repeatedly addresses challenges forms an instinctive playbook for decision-making, shaping culture over time. Leaders looking to shift culture don’t need to mandate change—they need to introduce new problems that require new ways of working.

At our school, when we needed to shift our team’s approach to collaboration, I didn’t roll out a new policy or training. Instead, I introduced initiatives that required Guides (our term for teacher) to work differently—projects that couldn’t be completed in silos, new accountability structures that changed communication patterns, and challenges that required creative problem-solving. Over time, these new ways of working became the norm, and the culture evolved in a lasting way.

4. Integrating Around a Job to Be Done

One of Christensen’s biggest breakthroughs was the idea that customers don’t simply buy products; they "hire" them to do a job. Understanding this shift in perspective is critical because customers often don’t articulate their real needs clearly—they describe what they want, but the real opportunity lies in discovering what they actually need. Instead of competing on features alone, businesses that integrate around a job to be done create solutions that evolve with their customers over time.

My friend Thomas Arnett, a senior research fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute, helped me here, too. In his research, Arnett uncovered these specific motivations driving families to seek microschools:

1. When I disagree with decisions at my child's school and I'm feeling unheard, help me find an alternative that will honor my perspective and values.
2. When my child is unhappy, unsafe, or struggling at school, help me find an environment where they can regain their love for learning.
3. When my child's school is too focused on academic milestones and neglects other forms of learning, help me find a balanced educational experience for my child.

These and other JTBD insights changed how I approached school design. Instead of just asking families what they wanted in an education model, I focused on the deeper job they were hiring us to do. That meant creating flexible learning structures that adapted to student needs, designing systems that supported both academic and personal growth, and ensuring that as learners grew, our model grew with them. This approach helped us build a school that truly serves its families, not just one that checks boxes.

5. Discovery-Driven Planning: Learning from Reality

I can't say enough good things about discovery-driven planning! Traditional business planning assumes certainty, but discovery-driven planning acknowledges that in new ventures, most assumptions will be wrong. Instead of treating financial projections as static, this approach emphasizes making small bets, testing key assumptions, and adjusting in real time based on what the market reveals.

I applied this principle in building financial projections for our school. We set ambitious goals but treated them as hypotheses rather than guarantees, tracking real-time data on student enrollment, software investments, and marketing effectiveness. Over time, our budgets became increasingly accurate, and we learned which assumptions held true and which needed adjustment. This allowed us to pivot quickly rather than waiting until the end of a financial cycle to course-correct.

For example, we initially made assumptions about what software investments were required to deepen learning and improve customer (i.e., learner, parent, and caregiver) satisfaction, only to refine them as we gathered more data on actual usage and outcomes. We also learned what salary levels attracted and retained the right kind of staff, allowing us to make more informed hiring decisions over time. Similarly, we tested different marketing investments to understand which strategies yielded the strongest enrollment pipeline, adjusting our approach based on real conversion rates rather than broad industry benchmarks. Each of these discoveries helped us build a more resilient and responsive financial model—one that evolves with reality rather than sticking rigidly to early projections.

6. Getting the Scope of the Business Right

Christensen emphasized that leaders must decide which capabilities to build internally and which to outsource. Many organizations try to do everything themselves, but getting the scope of the business right means focusing only on the competencies that are truly core while leveraging external partners for everything else.

For us, this meant developing curriculum writing and online learning facilitation in-house—areas where we needed full control to maintain quality. At the same time, we outsourced AI-driven e-learning and most sports programs, recognizing that other organizations or club teams could deliver those experiences better than we could. This strategic focus allowed us to invest deeply in what mattered most while staying agile in other areas.

7. Understanding Business Models and Designing for Sustainability

A solid business model isn’t just about generating revenue—it’s about creating an organization that can sustain itself and grow. Christensen’s framework for business models—focusing on value propositions, resources, processes, and profit formulas—helped me design an education model that was financially viable from day one. His model emphasizes that every successful business must align these four elements in a way that not only delivers value to customers but also ensures long-term financial health. By continuously refining how we allocate resources and structure key processes, we’ve been able to adapt to changing demands while maintaining both mission fidelity and financial stability.

Since our school’s inception, we’ve prioritized financial sustainability, ensuring that tuition, fundraising, and operational efficiencies work together. This approach has also given us a clear framework for mid-year adjustments, allowing us to either increase revenue or cut costs as needed. Understanding the mechanics of our business model has been crucial in keeping our mission strong while ensuring long-term stability.

8. Identifying and Developing Capable Leaders

Clay provided a structured way to think about leadership development, emphasizing that hiring isn’t just about credentials—it’s about understanding the skills, experiences, and mindsets required for success. A great hiring process starts with identifying what competencies are truly essential, then looking at the life experiences that develop those competencies.

I’ve refined my hiring approach by focusing not just on resumes but on the real-world challenges candidates have faced. Instead of relying on generic interview questions, I design conversations that reveal how a person thinks, adapts, and solves problems. Over time, this approach has led to better hires—people who are not just capable on paper but who thrive in our unique environment.

Another Massive Thank You to Clay

Clayton Christensen’s ideas have transformed industries—but they’ve also transformed my leadership. From financial strategy to hiring, from culture to customer empathy, his work has been a guiding light. Though he passed away in 2020, his insights continue to shape the way leaders build organizations that endure and innovate.

It was a privilege to learn from Clayton Christensen. In our final class today, he shared that early on, he and his wife set a goal for their family to be known for kindness. After spending time getting to know him, I can confidently say they achieved that goal perfectly.