# The "job" of a McDonald's milkshake

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2020-01-24

business, clayton-christensen, disruptive-innovation, harvard-business-school, innovation, management, mcdonalds, tech, the-innovators-dilemma

---

Management guru [Clayton M. Christensen died this week](https://www.wsj.com/articles/harvard-professor-clayton-m-christensen-turned-his-life-into-a-case-study-11579909615). Sadly, he was only 67 (leukaemia). A professor at Harvard Business School, Christensen was best known for probably two things: His work on [disruptive innovation](https://www.amazon.ca/Innovators-Dilemma-Technologies-Cause-Great/dp/1633691780/ref=sr_1_1?crid=JEMSEUNU33ZJ&keywords=the+innovators+dilemma&qid=1579915795&sprefix=The+Innovator%E2%80%99s+Dilemma%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-1) and his teachings on how to live a more fulfilling life. If you've read anything on innovation and disruption, I am sure you've come across the work of Christensen. He had a way of explaining things by reframing them. Here is [a short video](https://youtu.be/Stc0beAxavY) about the "job" of a McDonald's milkshake. And here is [another one](https://youtu.be/Zn6-KksdOgE?t=67) where he explains the cycle of disruptive innovations, sustaining innovations, and efficiency innovations. Both videos are worth watching.

https://youtu.be/Zn6-KksdOgE?t=67

---

*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/the-job-of-a-mcdonalds-milkshake)*
