Scott D. Anthony

So that means your best choice is to get on a plane and fly to Paris, which meant not many people were enjoying French food.

Mastering the art of French cooking made it simple and accessible for a broader population to enjoy French cooking.

Julia Child amplified that by having her TV show that brought it to more people.

Classic disruptive innovation.

So the story, the brief story.

Julia Child joined with two co-authors, Simcha Beck and Louisette Berthold, in 1951 to work on the project that became Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

It was not an overnight success.

It took 10 years.

There were three different publishers.

There were two near-death experiences.

She needed help from an outside friend, Avis Devoto, who introduced her at the last minute to Judy Jones and Alfred Knopf that published the book.

This is one of the very clear patterns for disruptive innovation.

There's always twists and turns.

There's always false steps and fumbles.

There's always in the classic motto myth, divine help from an outsider that can help to make connections.

I know for sure whenever I start researching or writing or helping somebody with a disruptive idea, that pattern will exist.

That's predictable.

Exactly where and when and how misfortune or fortune will strike, you cannot know for sure.

It is not Newtonian physics.

It is not deterministic.