#160 - John Fallon: Leading Through a Decade-Long Disruption

Episode notes

John Fallon is the former CEO of Pearson, where he led one of the most challenging digital transformations of any publicly traded company - shifting a legacy publishing giant from selling ~20 million US college textbooks per year to a subscription-driven, digital platform business. This episode was recorded live at LHH’s Executive Exchange Conference in London, and John joins us to share hard-won leadership lessons from the front lines of disruption. For years we’ve been told only nimble startups survive disruption. But that story misses a quieter truth: most of the Fortune 500 was founded long before the internet - and many incumbents have adapted through multiple platform shifts. In his new book, Resurgent, John (with Julian Birkinshaw of London Business School) makes a contrarian case: established organizations can fight back - and even thrive - if they get clear on their enduring value, redesign for transformation, and lead change like the human “contact sport” it is.

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