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Finding Fertile Ground: Identifying Extraordinary Opportubnities for New Ventures by Robert Morris

Finding Fertile Ground: Identifying Extraordinary Opportubnities for New Ventures
Scott A. Shane
Wharton School Publishing

According to Shane, "This book is different from most books on entrepreneurship in three important ways: First, the book focuses on what matters the most for successful entrepreneurship -- picking a good opportunity for starting a new business -- rather than what most people write about -- the attributes of successful entrepreneurs....This book is also different from most books on entrepreneurship, which focus on [begin italics] how [end italics] to get a new company started rather than on what kind of business is a good one to start....Moreover, this book takes the idea of explaining how to pick the right business seriously by developing a framework of rules for success that are based on academic research which shows the things that makes companies successful....[and also] focuses on how to identify a business concept that can support the development of a successful technology-based company." Shane focuses his reader's attention on "the key actions that you should take to come up with an opportunity that will support, and even foster, the creation of a new high technology company [which achieves and then sustains profitability]." He identifies ten "Key Lessons" and devotes a separate chapter to each. The "lessons" are arranged in a sequence of "key actions" which begin with selecting the right industry (Chapter 1) and conclude with managing risk and uncertainty (Chapter 10). It is noteworthy that, unlike so most other business books, this one does not provide a series of "To Do" lists; rather, a series of "Stop! Don't Do It!" lists. Shane also strategically places clusters of "Questions to Ask Yourself" so that the reader is challenged, at each step of the way, to address key issues. For example, it is in Chapter 6 that Shane explains how to exploit established company weaknesses. One of the questions asks "How can I take advantage of the way large established firms reward people when I found my new firm?" At one point, Shane suggests that "being a successful entrepreneur is much like being as good professional gambler. If you know the games where the odds are least stacked in favor of the house, and you understand the rules of the game you are playing, you can greatly improve your chances of winning. Following the rules outlined in this book will help you identify the fertile ground -- a truly extraordinary business opportunity that will foster the development of a new high-technology company." Shane's advice will certainly be of substantial value to those thinking about launching a new firm but it can also be of substantial value to others who are thinking about expanding into (what is for them) an entirely new market and/or thinking about introducing (what is for them) an entirely new product or service. Whatever the "game" may be, whatever the nature of the "gamble," it is important to keep in mind that -- more often than not -- what seems to be "fertile ground" for opportunity proves to be a graveyard for inept entrepreneurship. Obviously, I hold this volume in high regard and appreciate the CD which Wharton School Publishing provides with it, a value-added benefit indeed.