In this new book by two McKinsey consultants, the central question is a very simple one: why do good companies fail? The focus of the book is not so much on corporate continuity as "discontinuity," or companies' constant need to destroy and re-create themselves in order to adapt to changing business conditions. Reflecting a "corporate Darwinism," the authors feel that "destruction is a mechanism that allows the market to maintain freshness by eliminating those elements that are no longer needed." From their research of over 1000 American companies, they show that even successful corporations over time invariably underperform. Examples of companies that chose to "destroy" themselves and reemerge phoenixlike include such well-known names as General Electric, Intel, and Enron. The authors are certainly onto something, but the conclusions aren't all that new. The book comes across as a slick client presentation loaded with graphs, charts, and plenty of business jargon that is often numbing to read. A more satisfying book on this subject is Clayton Christensen's The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail. (Harvard Business, 1997). Not recommended. Richard Drezen, Washington Post/NYC Bureau, New York Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.