Innovation and Entrepreneurship - Peter Drucker

A complete WOW! No wonder Peter Drucker is 'the GOD' in the management world. Rather than review the book, such books should be summarized and the key points should be used as a framework!

It’s a must read book for understanding how innovation should be cultivated and what enablers are needed from the govt, society and people to cultivate innovative and entrepreneurial thinking. For the ones, including me at times, who think that entrepreneurship is not his cup of tea, this is what PFD has to say " Entrepreneurship is behavior rather than personality trait, its concept and foundation lies in concept and theory rather than in intuition

The first part of the book explains the principles and framework of innovation. PFD says that in order to innovate systematically, one needs to explore the seven sources of innovation opportunities:

(i) The unexpected - failure/success/outside event

(ii) The incongruity

(iii) Innovation based on process need

(iv) Changes in industry or market structure

(v) Demographics

(vi) Changes in perception, mood and meaning

(vii) New knowledge, both scientific and non-scientific

While the first four happen within the enterprise or industry, the next three are observed outside the industry. The examples mentioned in this book for each of the seven sources are brilliant - right from Macy's to IBM.

Some of the key things to remember for innovative thinking:

(i) In order to practice innovation, one needs to systematically scan and analyze the various opportunities.

(ii) In order to be innovate, one must go out to look, to ask and to listen! And serial innovators are dexterous in their thinking i.e. they are both left brained and right brained.

(iii) The innovation will be effective only if it focused and simple

(iv) Effective innovations start small - they cannot be grandiose!

(v) Successful innovation aims at leadership, and not necessarily at becoming eventually a big business

And some of the key things to remember to avoid are:

(i) Don’t try to be too clever in your idea, whether design or execution :)

(ii) Don’t diversify, stay focused

(iii) Innovate for the present, not for the future

The second part of the book explains entrepreneurial management - how to hone it in a person, in an enterprise and in a society.

And the last part, which I found the most interesting, talks about entrepreneurial strategies. And these are:

(i) Being "Fustest with the Mostest"

(ii) "Hitting them where they ain't"

(iii) Finding and occupying a specialized "ecological niche"

(iv) Changing the economic characteristics of a product, a market or an industry

In order to understand and absorb all these key points, there are very interesting case studies which cannot be skipped. All in all there is a wealth of information for the minds which want to be innovative and entrepreneurial.