Innovation and Entrepreneurship Book Summary - Innovation and Entrepreneurship Book explained in key points
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Innovation and Entrepreneurship summary

Peter Drucker

Discover how anybody in any job can be an entrepreneur

4.3 (65 ratings)
21 mins

Brief summary

'Innovation and Entrepreneurship' by Peter Drucker highlights the importance of entrepreneurship as a tool for economic and social development. It offers insights on how to generate new ideas, assess opportunities, and create successful businesses.

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    Innovation and Entrepreneurship
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    To innovate, you must look for sources of innovation.

    How do entrepreneurs become successful? Some say luck, others say hard work. But the truth is – to be a successful entrepreneur you must always be on the look-out for sources of innovation. That is, events that offer the impetus for innovation.

    These sources can be internal – occurring within a business, market or industry – or they can be external, from a field such as politics, academia or science.

    Let’s take a look at the internal sources of innovation.

    The first internal source is the unexpected.

    This happened to Macy’s, New York’s largest department store, when customers started buying more and more appliances. Macy’s hadn’t planned this – the trend just happened.

    When the unexpected happens, a clever company or entrepreneur will exploit it.

    Macy’s wasn’t so slick, however. When confronted by this unexpected success, they actually tried to curb the sales of appliances, as it wasn’t normal. As a result, they lost a lot of their market share.

    Other department stores such as Bloomingdale’s also experienced the same phenomenon. In contrast to Macy’s, though, they took advantage of the trend and invested money in marketing their appliance departments, which led to increased profits.

    Another internal source of innovation comes from changes or development in an industry or market.

    For instance, in the 1960s the automobile industry suddenly changed from a market where each country was led by local companies to an international market dominated by multinationals.

    Companies like Volvo took advantage of this change and aggressively marketed themselves globally. Consequently, Volvo went from a small manufacturer that was barely able to break even to a worldwide success.

    Other companies like Citroen, however, didn’t adapt to the changes and lost out as a result.

    So the more you can utilize the unexpected and know how to leverage a changing market, the more you will benefit.

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    What is Innovation and Entrepreneurship about?

    Innovation and Entrepreneurship (2006) demonstrates how to be innovative and reveals strategies that create customers for your innovation. It shows how entrepreneurship can be learned and implemented by anyone and how entrepreneurial skills can be used not just in new ventures but in established corporations.

    Who should read Innovation and Entrepreneurship?

    • Entrepreneurs and anyone interested in entrepreneurship
    • Senior managers in large companies
    • Anyone with a great idea for a new product or service

    About the Author

    Peter Drucker (1909–2005) was considered one of business management’s top thinkers. He was a management consultant, educator and author. He published over 35 titles – a substantial body of work that contributed to the foundation of modern business thinking. Drucker was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush in 2002.

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