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Finalist, 2023 George R. Terry Book Award, Academy of Management
Entrepreneurs are among the primary shapers of our culture, yet their role in driving progress and influencing society has often been overlooked. As far back as we can trace human history, there have been entrepreneurs. Almost five millennia ago, copper tool manufacturers set up a factory in what today is southwest Spain, profiting for hundreds of years from trade around the Mediterranean. Papyri document the diverse investments of an ancient Egyptian businessperson, from grain-yielding land to flax for linen cloth. What do these figures have in common with renowned modern entrepreneurs, and how do their similarities help us achieve a deeper understanding of entrepreneurship as well as the potential for a healthier, wealthier, and more equitable and sustainable future?
Derek Lidow delves into the deep history of innovation to deliver essential new insights into how entrepreneurs create value and bring about change. Telling the captivating stories of people from many different cultures over thousands of years, he shows how entrepreneurs transform the world through relentless innovation. Lidow demonstrates that far from being heroic lone individuals, they copy and then add to the inventions of others. The cumulative innovations of swarms of entrepreneurs expand the scale, scope, and range of products and services. Lidow emphasizes how entrepreneurship can harm society as well as benefit it, and he underscores ways to mitigate its harmful side and harness its positive effects. By highlighting the fundamental qualities of innovation throughout history, this book provides indispensable new perspective on how it is shaping our present and future.
Derek Lidow’s intellectual curiosity is infectious! I was dazzled by his ability to use deep-in-the-weeds historical research to illustrate fundamental principles of entrepreneurship through the ages. Not only did I learn about fascinating historical examples previously unknown to me, but I was also treated to great visual imagery as Lidow made the examples come alive. His skill in weaving incisive examples into solid empirical generalization is clearly a skill that stems from his practical business knowledge. He takes the reader around the world and through the centuries, using fascinating case material to document his argument that the principles of entrepreneurship are deeply embedded in the way civilization has evolved over the millennia. Entrepreneurship scholars and other interested readers are going to love this book.
Preface: Stumped No Longer
Introduction: An Indispensable Problem
1. Emergence
2. The Core of Entrepreneurship
3. Outsiders
4. Fuel to Fire
5. Entrepreneur Versus Entrepreneur
6. Scaling Supply
7. Scaling Demand
8. Scaling Simplicity
9. Scaling Consequences
10. Attempts at Control
11. Value Beyond Money
12. The Possibilities of Our Entrepreneurial Future
Notes on the Definition of “Entrepreneur”
Bibliographic Notes
Acknowledgments
Index