Jim Dewald
Achieving Longevity
How Great Firms Prosper Through Entrepreneurial Thinking
University of Toronto Press, 2016
What's inside?
Focusing on innovation rather than commoditizing technology promotes business “longevity.”
Recommendation
Most people argue that the rate of change has accelerated. However, University of Calgary strategy professor Jim Dewald makes the case that change actually has slowed markedly compared with the pace of change a century ago, when the motorcar, the telephone and the electric lightbulb shook up the global economy. Since the early 1900s, businesses have concentrated on commoditizing these technologies. If they are rigid, that focus could put them at risk as fundamental changes now further transform technology and the economy. Companies can increase their “longevity” by abandoning rigid forms of strategic planning and encouraging thinking and behavior that boosts innovation. getAbstract recommends Dewald’s provocative thesis to entrepreneurs, business owners and leaders.
Summary
About the Author
Jim Dewald is dean of the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business where he is also an associate professor of strategy and entrepreneurship.
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