Crossing the Chasm, by Geoffrey A. Moore

This is one of those classic works of business prose that you’re all but certain to come across in everyday business conversations. And if you haven’t read it, you’re likely to get that meaning-infused eyebrow twitch from your conversation partner, suggesting you might want to “get with the program.”

The concept of the “chasm” as it applies to bringing disruptive products to the market is now a common term in the vocabulary of business. Geoffrey Moore, who many consider to be one of the most prolific minds in business strategy, establishes the principle of a gap, or “chasm” as it were, between the initial activities which create early market entrants and the mass adoption scenario once products become successful in the marketplace. Sadly, the chasm is where an overwhelming number of innovative products end up because of the lack of understanding of the forces which pull transformative new products toward this chasm. Crossing the chasm is, strategically speaking, a battle that organizations need to prepare for and aggressively wage, to leap over the chasm to the fertile growth and mass adoption opportunities on the other side.

The book is a quick read, often devoured in a single evening, is full of examples of both successful and not so successful attempts to bring new products to market; a must read for any business strategy or marketing professional.