I just finished reading a decent book called “The Entrepreneurial Imperative” by Carl J. Schramm. The book can be a bit preachy and propagandist-sounding at times, but the basic premise is interesting and Schramm makes some very interesting observations.
The opening line pretty much sums up the book: “For the United States to survive and continue its economic and political leadership in the world, we must see entrepreneurship as our central comparative advantage.” Sound interesting? If so, check out the book:
Here are some of the quotes that tickled my fancy:
In short, entrepreneurship in our businesses and universities; in our approach to both government and foreign policy; and in our personal lives is the only answer if we hope to continue to thrive. (p. 1)
Technology isn’t the answer, since everyone now has the same technology or can easily obtain it. (p. 1)
Entrepreneurship is the process in which one or more people undertake economic risk to create a new organization that will exploit a new technology or innovative process that generates value to others. (p. 4)
[E]ntrepreneurial capitalism is our single most important export! (p. 10)
Discomfort–and it may be intellectual discomfort–is the source of all entrepreneurial activity. (p. 12)
From a letter to his children:
Never count on anyone but you to create your destiny (p. 81)
Awesome:
There is a new course at Stanford jointly run by its medical and engineering schools. Four people how have just completed their undergraduate degree or a professional degree (e.g., MD) make a team. The team is then placed inside Stanford Hospital with the ability to go anywhere and hang around with anyone. In two months, the team must come up with three hundred ideas of how some part of the practice of medicine or the running of the hospital could be improved. (p. 84)
IBM tells us in its ads that it is a consulting company, and, in fact, the majority of its revenue is now derived from selling IBM’s expert’s time. This is the new corporation–people and ideas. (p. 110)
Bureaucracy is the enemy of innovation, the arterial plaque in an economy. (p. 153)
In particular worth reading are all the letters Schramm has written to friends, colleagues, and family and included in this book. If anyone wants my copy, hit me up ( @kortina ), I don’t need it anymore.
