The first book to present innovation and entrepreneurship as purposeful and systematic discipline which explains and analyzes the challenges and opportunities of America’s new entrepreneurial economy. A superbly practical book that explains what established businesses, public survey institutions, and new yentures have to know, have to learn, and have to do in today’s economy and marketplace.
Customer Reviews
The understanding of why any business or organization will prevail.:
Absolutely Druckers best! This is one of three Books that are fundamentally important for existing in business. This is the understanding necessary for helping leaders,management and future leaders make decisions. This should be a text book for anyone starting a business,all business schools,all business decision makers,or anyone that wants(or has)to make decisions in any enterprise. You will BE better for reading this book. Take your time, because it is all here.
I fully concur: 1st book to present innovation & entrepreneurship as a purposeful & systematic discipline!:
I am very gratified to note that this wonderful book is still around & is being re-released as a new print. I read it when it was first published in the mid-80s. I remember that I had reread it during the early 90’s when I had just started my own consultancy business.
I fully concur that this book is the first book to present innovation & entrepreneurship as a purposeful & systematic discipline. The book concists of three major parts:
- Part I: The Practice of Innovation;
- Part II: The Practice of Entrepreneurship;
- Part III: Entrepreneurial Strategies;
According to the author, entrepreneurial strategies are as important as purposeful innovation & entrepreneurial management. Together, they make up innovation & entrepreneurship.
What I like most about the book is the author’s clear definition & concise elaboration of innovation as a disciplined business practice. He makes a very clear distinction: “Business, because of its purpose, has just two functions, & only two: MARKETING & INNOVATION. Marketing & Innovation make money. Everything else is a cost.”
Best of all, he also provides some general guidelines for identifying innovative opportunities.
As a matter of fact, in Part I of the book, he describes the seven sources for innovative opportunities. Each of these seven sources are systematically covered in a specific chapter. For all entrepreneur-wannabes out there, understanding these ‘innovative secrets of success’ alone is worth the price of the entire book.
The breakthrough book On Disruption:
Drucker coined the term “entrepreneurial judo” in one of the final chapters of this book, back in 1984, to explain the unexpected success of new entrants that cracked mature markets by introducing lower quality products or services, often aimed at marginal market segments.
Companies like Sony, with the first transistor radio, or Citibank’s German expansion or MCI’s launch.
This proved to be the early catalyst for Clayton Christensen’s detailed examination of disruptive innovation more than 10 years later.
As Drucker points out, the success could be summarized in the motto of a civil war general: “Hit them where they ain’t.”
Drucker’s book, as all his works, is clearly grounded in customer-focused, down-to-earth views of business. He includes a helpful list of Do’s and Dont’s for innovation that any entrepreneur should know and embrace.
A must for any budding entrepreneur:
Ok, so you want to start your own business but do not have a business degree? Don’t know the rules of the game? Then do buy this book and read it thoroughly. I still use it as a guide in my little internet startup that I formed a few years ago. A must have for anyone with no business background but still wants to make it big 
Maureen Hull - Review:
Outstanding book and content. Has helped me make over $2 million dollars in my businesses. I was told to include that in the review. Anyway… We like to be positive, be successful. Maureen Hull.
