Innovation and Entrepreneurship [Paperback]

Peter F. Drucker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 26, 1993

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A remarkable book about the economic futre of the United States." -- --National Review

"A remarkable book about the economic future of the United States." -- National Review

"By far the most trenchant analysis of a phenomenon that, if the author is correct, may be the key to our economic growth and continued prosperity." -- New Times

"Drucker believes entrepreneurship is not only possible in all institutions, it is essential to their survival. Just how to manage entrepreneurship is what thisnew book is all about." -- Venture

"Far from being dated, Peter Drucker's Innovation and Entrepreneurship has survived the past decade in considerably better shape than many Fortune 500 companies that ignored its lessons...Thoughtful, concise and useful." -- Technology Review

"If you read only one book on management this year make it Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter F. Drucker." -- D & B Reports

"Our most enduring commentator on the practice of management and the economic institutions of society." -- Business Week

About the Author

White House Honors Drucker with Presidential Medal of Freedom

On June 21, Dr. Peter Drucker, author of The Effective Executive and Management Challenges for the 21st Century, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush.

"Dr. Peter Drucker is the world's foremost pioneer of management theory. Dr. Drucker has championed concepts such as privatization, management by objective and decentralization. He has served as a consultant to numerous governments, public service institutions and major corporations. Dr. Drucker is a Professor of Social Sciences and Management at the Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California, which named its Graduate School of Management after him. He helped establish and continues to serve as the Honorary Chairman of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management in New York City, which awards the Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation. He is currently applying his expertise to the management of churches and other faith-based institutions and to the reorganization of universities worldwide." - White House Web site

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the Nation's highest civilian honor. It was established by President Truman in 1945 to recognize civilians for their service during World War II, and it was reinstated by President Kennedy in 1963 to honor distinguished service.

Also among the honorees were Hank Aaron, Bill Cosby, Placido Domingo, Katharine Graham, Nancy Reagan, and A.M. Rosenthal.

---

Peter F. Drucker is an author of more than thirty-five books, and his ideas have had an enormous impact on shaping the modern corporation. In 2002, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He is a writer, teacher, philosopher, reporter, consultant, and a professor at the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. He lives in California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Collins; 1st edition (May 26, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887306187
• ISBN-13: 978-0887306181
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #967,957 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Peter F. Drucker (1909-2005) was considered the top management thinker of his time. He authored over 25 books, with his first, The End of Economic Man published in 1939. His ideas have had an enormous impact on shaping the modern corporation. One of his most famous disciples alive today is Jack Welch. He was a teacher, philosopher, reporter and consultant.

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#75 in Books > Business & Investing

#100 in Kindle eBooks > Business & Investing

#75 in Books > Business & Investing

#100 in Kindle eBooks > Business & Investing

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I fully concur: 1st book to present innovation & entrepreneurship as a purposeful & systematic discipline! September 30, 2006

By Lee Say Keng

Format:Paperback

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.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Forget about that MBA - buy this book and read it! February 19, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

This is my pick for the best business book of the 20th century. I have read this book three times, have taken extensive notes on it, and still learn a great deal with each re-reading. Peter Drucker has written many excellent business books, but this one shines. Unlike other books with "entrepreneurship" and "innovation" in their titles, this book does not go through the mechanics of setting or running up a business, but instead focuses on the essence of good business planning and practice.

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Framework For Innovation November 13, 2006

By Dustin Bouch

Format:Paperback

Innovation and Entrepreneurship is a good resource for categorizing and identifying sources of innovation. Drucker does an excellent job of organizing the key elements involved in innovation and there is a fair amount of real world examples that help the reader understand the concepts. However, most books on this topic usually leave me asking for more concrete examples of the execution of the topics laid out here, and this book is no exception. Innovation and Entrepreneurship is more about creating a framework for innovation that can be used to compartmentalize current practices and shed light on their origins. Drucker accurately points out that the least likely sources of innovation are from new knowledge and bright ideas. The insight into this alone, makes the book well worth reading. If you are looking for a way to categorize and identify the most effective sources of innovation in an effort to budget the research efforts in you corporation, I highly recommend this book. If you are an entrepreneur looking for new sources, you might me better off looking elsewhere, such as Clayton Christensen's The Innovator's Dilemma.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Lays down the foundation for serious entrepreneurship August 30, 2000

By Gregory McMahan VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

With the publication of this book, which goes all the way back to the mid-eighties, Drucker has set the standard for serious entrepreneurship. Drucker tells the reader that innovation and entrepreneurship go hand in hand, and that both innovation and entrepreneurship can be practiced by large and small companies.

Using a plethora of available case studies, Drucker shows how many companies large and small, known and unknown, have successfully implemented entrepreneurial practices. Drucker tells the reader how to go about implementing an entrepreneurial culture, and more importantly, what not to do when trying to develop such an outlook and culture in the organization.

Drucker identifies seven sources of innovation, and explains very clearly how to go about sowing the seeds of and nurturing an innovation. He then lays down the principles of entrepreneurship, and gives the reader some entrepreneurial strategies. Throughout the text, he gives both the pluses and the minuses of his ideas.

This book, first published in 1985, was way ahead of the curve. It literally predicted the profound effects of the IT revolution, coined the concept of lifelong learning, and identified the pivotal role of sound managerial practices in entrepreneurship and the new venture. Those of us who are active participants in the 'New Economy' should sit up and take notice of this book.

These days, it is very fashionable to call oneself an 'entrepreneur', but only Drucker has a clear concept of what an entrepreneur really is. Any person who wants to practice serious entrepreneurship, whether they work for a big company or are involved in a new venture, must read this book.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars How to discover and implement innovation. November 17, 2002

By Anthony

Format:Paperback

Drucker's thesis: "Systematic innovation consists in the purposeful and organized search for changes, and in the systematic analysis of the opportunities such changes might offer for economic or social innovation."

The book is divided into three sections: The practice of innovation (where to look to find indicators of opportunity for innovative change); The practice of entrepreneurship (managing so to foster innovation); and Entrepreneurial strategies (competitive strategies).

Drucker provides a detailed analysis of the sources of innovation and strategies for the implementation of innovation-based changes. He shows, with many real-world examples, how systematic innovation can be applied to business, government, politics, non-profit and service organizations.

The analysis is thorough, well structured and easy to understand. He finishes with an interesting discussion of why innovation is so necessary today, and gives some good examples of areas of society operating on dated assumptions and suggests some insightful innovations.

Even though the book was written some years ago, his methodology remains applicable. In terms of contribution to strategy development I rank Innovation and Entrepreneurship up there with Michael Porter's Competitive Strategy.

My only criticism of Drucker is his sometimes awkward writing style and his tendency to wordiness. However, I give the book full marks for being a well-researched and logically presented work.