文档介绍：BEST OF HBR
1985
1 The Discipline
by Peter F. Drucker
How much of innovation is inspiration, and how much is hard work? If it's mainly
the former, then management's role is limited: Hire the right people, and get out
of their way. If it's largely the latter, management must play a more vigorous role:
Establish the right roles and processes, set clear goals and relevant measures, and
review progress at every step. Peter Drucker, with the masterly
subtlety that is his trademark, comes down somewhere in the
, he writes in this article, innovation is real work,
andX'G azd should be managed like any other corporate function. But that
doesn't mean it's the same as other business activities. Indeed, innovation is the
w~rkof knowing rather than doing.
Drucker argues that most innovative business e from methodically
analyzing seven areas of opportunity, some of which lie within -
panies or industries and some of which lie in broader social or demographic
trends. Astute managers will ensure that anizations maintain a clear
focus on all seven. But analysis will take you only so far. Once you've identified
an attractive opportunity, you still need a leap of imagination to arrive at the
right response-call itWfunctionalinspiration!'
In business, innovation DESPITEmuch discussion these days Innovation is the specific fu