Portland State University

By Phil Berko, MBA Class of 2011

Business is a powerful force that can be used to catalyze social changes — this was the resounding theme for last week's Leadership Forum, when Thomas Thurston delivered a keynote presentation titled ""Using Disruption Theory to Predict Startup Business Success." In his talk, Thurston linked disruption theory to the social responsibility business leaders have to the community.

While at Intel, Thomas began studying the success rates of the new business ventures financed by Intel, and he worked to develop a reliable predictive method to determine the success of new ventures.

Enter disruption theory.

Coined by Clayton M. Christensen at Harvard in 1995, disruption theory outlines a framework for successful innovation in an existing market space. Thomas’ work caught the eye of Christensen and others at Harvard and MIT. He was awarded a Fellowship at Harvard and refined his predictive methodology.

According to Thomas, the importance of accurate predictive tools goes beyond successful investing. His lessons to the Portland State MBA students focused on the responsibility we have towards quality decision making. He insists that good decision making tools are circumstance-based and predictive. He says that when managers are fitted with good tools, they can make more accurate decisions with less analysis.

Without a doubt, the power of higher quality analysis will allow managers to better allocate resources and capital. Poor decisions can, and have, led to the downfall of numerous industries with far reaching societal impacts, recently evidenced in Detroit's auto manufacturing industry. Therefore, managerial quality has a direct and palpable impact on many aspects of society and as managers, we have a responsibility that stretches beyond the workplace to make the most responsible decisions possible.

Thurston’s presentation was one of the most powerful and motivating talks I’ve attended. Being able to use the power of business to reliably impact society positively is an empowering and intriguing idea. Folks like Portland State's Carolyn McKnight and Cindy Cooper, who devote their lives to social change through business, amaze me — especially when contrasted by the excesses of conventional business.