The Entrepreneurial Imperative: How America's Economic Miracle Will Reshape the World (and Change Your Life)

by Carl J. Schramm

Book Overview

In 2004, Carl Schramm, president of the Kauffman Foundation, the world's leading foundation for entrepreneurship, published a groundbreaking essay with a radical premise: that Americans literally have no conception of the secret that truly underlies our economic success, and that for the United States to survive and continue to lead the world's economy, it is imperative we learn to understand and employ that secret. The secret that has led the American...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 006084163X
• ISBN13: 9780060841638
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Harper Business
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

This is an important topic!

The book The Entrepreneurial Imperative by Carl J. Schramm is subtitled "How America's Economic Miracle Will Reshape the World and Change Your Life". This is not a book on entrepreneurship, but rather a book on why entrepreneurship (practice of, promotion of, as foreign policy) is important to the a public policy for future USA. Right from page one the thesis is presented directly: 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. Nothing else can give us the necessary leverage to remain an economic superpower. Nothing else will allow us to continue to enjoy our standard of living. We either support and nature increasingly entrepreneurial activities in all aspect of our society and around the globe or run the very real risk that we will become progressively irrelevant on the world stage and suffer economically at home. In short, entrepreneurship in business 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. Aren't there other solutions? No. The author offers these definitions: * 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 the generates value to others. * The Entrepreneur is one who undertakes personal economic risk to create a new organization that will exploit a new technology or innovative process the generates value to others. Those definitions work for me well enough for me. I'd like to see what candidates for President in 2008 are going to talk this up - if any. For foreign policy, this means promoting in entrepreneurial capitalism over democracy promoting (or even business/globalization in general) . For domestic policy, this means creating environments were entrepreneurship is rewarded, and risks are reduced (less risk = more entrepreneurial activity). What might this mean: National systems of employer independent pension and health insurance systems (not gov run), and new financing and legal mechanisms. For schools and universities, this means entrepreneurship should be taught and practiced. This seems like an important book to me. At under 200 pages it is a quick read.

Right on target!

Where will the ideas come from that will spur new industries and new economic growth for America? From the bottom up. My job is to identify innovative and disruptive technologies for Microsoft, then engage the venture capital and entrepreneur community to turn ideas into products. The talented and passionate people I speak to every day confirm the messages in Carl Schramm's book many times over! He's reinforced my belief that in an increasingly global playing field, the country (and company) which best fosters a culture of innovation will win out. Highly recommended reading.

America's Competitive Advantage

Carl Schramm shows how the entrepreneurial spirit in all of us will continue to make America the leader in the world economy and serve as a force for positive change throughout the world. Encouraging entrepreneurship will ensure that the 21st Century becomes "another American century." As Schramm points out, this is the most entrepreneurial time in history and every citizen should plan to participate. We live in a period of ongoing change and opportunity. The Entrepreneurial Imperative is a refreshing, inspiring book that should be mandatory reading for business executives, venture capitalists, university administrators and others who care about our country's leadership role in the world.

HERALDING A NEW BUSINESS ERA: THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ERA!

Five Stars!! "The Entrepreneurial Imperative" is an innovative and idea-driven book by Carl J. Schramm, the President and CEO of the prestigious Kauffman Foundation, "the world's leading foundation for entrepreneurship". He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. As such, he is sitting in a 'cat-bird seat', observing and stimulating business activities and innovation for quite a while: "the presumptive center of a wide social network of entrepreneurs, policy makers, academic researcers, and teachers". Some may view the existence of the Kauffman Foundation as an anachronism, but it's in the middle of a business cyclone, conducting seminars and studies, granting fellowships, generating books on activities that many of us don't even consider, but we see and use the results everyday. And this book is a major achievement by Mr. Schramm in explaining his view of the current business economy in the U.S and, hopefully in due time, the world. A business economy of which many of us may not be fully aware. What current economy? Read on. To many of us, 'Entrepreneurial" business activities are like a mysterious, amorphous cloud where lightning strikes and produces a unique business that makes millions of dollars or a business that fails and is either gobbled up by a merger or disappears."The Entrepreneurial Imperative" is NOT a 'get rich quick' or 'quick business start-up' book, nor is it a formula, but a book describing what the new business economy is and how to generally view it, use it, and expand it. And what dangers there are to it. The old economy of the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's was a 'three-part economy' which was characterized by it's size: BIG! Big Business, Big Government, and Big Labor. The Entrepreneurial Economy is a 4-part economy, based on entrepreneurial capitalism: a "virtuous box", as it were, divided into four equal parts with interactions between each. I'll leave it to you to discover what they are when you read the book. Mr Schramm views entrepreneural business as flowing between those four main areas, affected by many other factors, one of which is the demoted "big labor". He views the entrepreneurial imperative as the key to our maintaining leadership and thriving in this world, with no other solution possible. But he also believes in "exporting" it, so that other economies around the world can thrive. Certainly an all-encompassing statement and based on a unique theory and reality. Business students, MBA's, and Ph.D's will love this 'idea-driven' book, but those in corporations, small businesses, upper-level educational institutions, and government may benefit most from reading it. I have an advanced business degree and own a small business so I have a 'double-vested' interest in accelerating innovative activities and I quickly bought this book. Others, however, may or may not get limited utility from it beyond a historical perspective and the educational experience. Or it may be the book that causes a breakthrou

An Imperative Read

A friend referred me to this author and book, and I highly recommend it to others. It's not like other business books that offer the "five best ways" or the "10 steps" to being more successful; rather, it is an eye-opening, insightful and smart book about the essential make-up of the American economy and our society -- and how it affects our daily lives. I have a much better sense of how I need to approach my own career, and more importantly, I know I must foster a greater sense in my own children about the importance of taking charge of their own destinies. I believe Mr. Schramm has "named" the secret of American success, and rightly calls on all of us to do our part in keeping America's entrepreneurial spirit alive.