Michael Gerber's Business Development Process Foundation #1: Innovation

On pp. 117-118 of The E-Myth Revisited (New York: Harper Collins, 1995), Gerber quotes Theodore Levitt, Marketing for Business Growth (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1974), p. 71:

The difference between creativity and innovation is the difference between thinking about getting things done in the world and getting things done.

He goes on to say, also on p. 118, "Where the business is the product, how the business interacts with the consumer is more important than what it sells."

This is important to say because we've all been disappointed by businesses. Do we remember the product that was sold? No, just the behavior of the business.

For Gerber the innovation is always doing what you're doing better. I reviewed a business plan for a couple of students designing a fast food business that would sell only fried food. They had a line item in their financials for "R&D" which amounted to finding out what batters were the most distinctive. This would be their marketing edge.

Sounded reasonable.

They had money in the item for the 1st year, but nothing in there for years 2 or 3. I asked them why. They said they had already found out how to make the batter. But, I said, aren't you going to continue to improve them or try out new ones? The stared at me for a minute, but when they revised their plan, I saw they had put in money for that. That's what Gerber calls innovation. Always improving how the business performs.

What do you think of this? The goal is to produce more skilled entrepreneurs. Does this help? Tell me. Post a comment. I'd like to know. And follow me on Twitter.com

Entrepreneurship informs all of my professional activities. Entrepreneurial ideas are their life's blood. For my ideas on entrepreneurial real estate go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for my ideas on writing and publishing, go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.