Silver Lining

INTRODUCTION

I wasn’t supposed to write this book.

I was supposed to be in the midst of my first semester as a doctoral student at the Harvard Business School, filling whatever idle hours I had with activities at Innosight. I had planned for the transition for almost two years and was confident in my decision. Until one weekend in July, when it became clear to me that continuing in my role at Innosight presented the best platform to help managers improve their ability to successfully innovate.

In the midst of the market meltdown in October, my mother asked me if I still thought I had made the right choice.

“How do you feel about walking away from a recession-proof industry?” she asked.

“I haven’t even thought about it,” I replied.

I wasn’t ...