Posted by
Barry Siskind
Community Manager

I have always been a fan of management guru Peter Drucker. I was first introduced to his works in university. Throughout my career I have often used his books for references. This is why a recent posting by writer Anne Mueller, in the American Express Open Forum caught my eye.

http://www.openforum.com/articles/a-business-masters-3-truths-of-innovation

As exhibitions retool to meet the demands of changing marketplaces, the need for innovation has never been as great. In this posting Mueller discusses three of Drucker’s principles and how they relate to innovation.
1. Innovation is more than inspiration and requires a lot of hard work. As Drucker wrote, “Purposeful innovation resulting from analysis, systems and hard work is all that can be discussed and presented as the practice of innovation. But this is all that need be presented since it surely covers at least 90 percent of all effective innovations.”
2. Innovation is crucial to your businesses survival. Complacency results in stagnation which in turn opens the doors wide to competitors with newer, better focused and executed exhibitions.
3. Innovation requires constant attention. It takes time to implement new ideas. It can also be a drain on human and fiscal resources. The solution is to create an exhibition organization with an innovation culture where new ideas are the values and senior management will invest in those that make the most sense.
What Mueller’s post reminded me of is how much the master (Drucker) still has to teach us.