Re-Entrepreneuring : How Organizations Can Reignite Their Entrepreneurial Spirit

It has long been assumed that, in the development of any organization, the time for entrepreneurial activity is right at the beginning. Once an organization is established, qualities that were virtues in the organization's start-up and early stages can become vices, and the entrepreneurial founders must cede control to professional managers who can nurture the fruits of their original vision more efficiently.

One unintended consequence of this assumption is that large, established organizations tend to be entrepreneur-free zones. Entrepreneurial thinking is tacitly discouraged because it can create novelty, and novelty is a threat to established organizations with large market shares.

Re-entrepreneuring argues that organizations must revive the entrepreneurial out-look of their founders in order to survive in today's market. In an organization that encourages and nurtures an entrepreneurial outlook, everyone has the potential to unleash their inner entrepreneur and bring new and dynamic ways of thinking into their work environment. It has more to do with the ways of thinking encouraged by the organizational culture than by any inherent differences in talent or aptitude.

The solution presented in this new book from ROLAND BERGER, edited by CharlesEdouard Bouée and Stefan Schaible, is piecemeal yet targeted 're-entrepreneuring'. With the help of international case studies and first-hand testimony from business leaders, the authors show how the entrepreneurial approach can be applied to any organization and at all levels, in order to spark innovation, remove operational obstacles and – ultimately – to create new value.

“Easy to read . . . a practical guide for top managers on how to reinvent an existing business – not by pretending to be something different, but by building on the inherent strength of a company. A very timely and relevant publication for a topic that preoccupies many of us in a world of disruption.” —Chair of Entrepreneurial Finance, Center for Entrepreneurial and Financial Studies, Technical University of Munich

“Bouée and Schaible manage to encapsulate the unique mystery of entrepreneurship . . . always its original spirit needs to be kept alive to challenge the status quo, the only way to propel organizations to greatness.” —General Manager & Vice President of Apple Europe (2000-2012); Chairman Business France

“This book demonstrates, through convincing methods and illustrative examples, how an organization can succeed by combining managerial discipline with audacious innovation.” —former CEO and Chairman of Renault; high-ranking French civil servant; Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour