Reading Reflection #2
For this assignment, I read Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter F. Drucker.
Theme
This book was broken down into three main sections: the practice of innovation, the practice of entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial strategies. The practice of innovation, Drucker argued, is the main tool entrepreneurs utilize. In order to maximize exploitable opportunities, innovation has to be systematized (a process), specific, and impactful. An important concept I learned from this section was: innovation creates a resource (pg. 30). When practicing entrepreneurship, aspiring entrepreneurs have to focus on systematized management and visualize their role and commitments in the venture.
Connection
This book and ENT3003 went hand-in-hand regarding the concepts. I personally felt this book further enhanced my entrepreneurial skills by providing real-world examples of companies and individuals working through the process of entrepreneurship. The first section of the book mirrored the first half of the class; the importance of opportunity to an entrepreneur and the many ways an entrepreneur can search for opportunities to innovate. Another concept, buyer behavior, was emphasized in the book as well as in the class. The book stressed the importance of remaining vigilant to changes in customer preferences, demographics, and perceptions. And in class, we broke the buyer behavior into a five-step process and conducted interviews to gain real experience.
An Exercise to Consider
If I had to design an assignment based off this book, I would structure the assignment on "creative imitation" (pg. 220). Basically, to satisfy the requirements, students would need to pick five existing innovations, technical or non-technical products or services, and provide new ways to use these innovations that might be better than their current use and explain why.My 'Aha' Moment
I had many 'aha' moments while reading this book mainly from connecting the dots, concepts covered in class to true stories of past entrepreneurs. One 'aha' moment that had the most impact on me was when I realized that companies or individuals consistently practicing innovation and opportunity evaluation are able to reap the benefits, profit, for an extended period of time before the industry in which they are in catches up.
Hey Aaron,
ReplyDeleteI think your 'aha' moment was really interesting! I personally believe that entrepreneurs definitely have to dedicate a lot of time and focus to what they do, but they certainly get to see the benefits flow in. The three main sections as you described them seem to fit perfectly into our ENT3003 class structure. This class is all about innovation and maintaining that entrepreneurial mindset. It seems as though this book really exploited that from the perspective of a real life entrepreneur. This seems like a cool book and it seems like you learned principles which you can apply to the real world.
Hey Aaron,
ReplyDeleteThis book seems interesting, and I especially liked the exercise for the course that you came up with based on it. I think that's a really unique exercise that could provide so many different benefits to students. Reading about your aha moment reminded of what Jeff Bezos does with Amazon. He is constantly spending time every week analyzing what amazon and competitors are doing and having people come up with innovations to stay ahead of that.
Hi Aaron!
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your reading reflection! While reading it I was super compelled to read your book choice for myself and you did a great job of explaining your experience with the book and the impact it had on you. I liked your exercise that you came up with, and after reading about it I realized that it was actually very similar to the one that I came up with for my post! Good job on this post!