“It is what Joseph Schumpeter (1883 – 1950) did when he identified the “innovator” as the social force that turns economies upside down; the innovator does not behave economically, does not try to optimize, is not motivated by economic rationale – he is a social phenomenon. It is what this book tries to do.”

If you watch a football, soccer or basketball game, you will see many different players enter the arena. Each player usually does one of two things during the game: Some might try brand new moves, while others might introduce enhancements to the existing strategy. All players take risks. They play hard and try to win every game.

When you watch the game on television, you also may see a few well-dressed people sitting around a table in a comfortable room, making commentaries about the game. You might hear these commentators offer their ideas such as: “Michael Jordon should have gone a few steps in front and then tried to shoot the ball. That would have been the perfect shot. Had he done that, the Chicago Bulls would have won the game.”

People listening to these sports commentaries may agree with the analysis. Listeners might believe a certain commentator to be a genius when it comes to sports strategy, but we don’t for a moment presume that these commentators should then leave their comfortable chairs and take Michael Jordan’s place on the team.

That would be ridiculous. We know that the commentators are not the Players. Players keep their bodies and minds fit to play the game. Players go to the game with new strategies or enhanced existing strategies, every time they enter the field. Players take risks and know the challenges. They don’t succeed all the time, but they still get up and play the next game with a strong determination to win.

Economists are not players. In this analogy, economists are very much like sports commentators. They can only make comments on the players’ performances, and of course they are only able to comment on the past performances of the players. Their present statement is then always based on what has already happened. Economists have no idea about the present activity and potential future results. They must live in the past.

And yet the economists are so incredibly influential. Their statements stay in the public mind as powerful indicators of what is actually happening.

When economists make a comment such as: “The Economy is in Recession,” then people panic. The stock market plummets. When economists make a statement such as: “The Economy is in Depression,” people jump out of windows.

Even the most innovative organizations in the world are now making statements like, “We are not immune from the economic depression and we view the situation as pretty dire.” The CEOs are making very grim public remarks about the economy.

But the truth is, these economists are much like sports commentators. They are not players in the actual game. They are talking about the past.

Then who are the players who are actually making things happen now?

The players are the innovators.
Innovators build the future now. Innovation creates wealth.

The innovator is the social force that turns economies upside down. The innovator does not behave economically, does not try to optimize, and is not motivated by economic rationale. Innovator is a social phenomenon.

Only Innovation creates wealth, not economists’ statements such as “Recession” and “Depression.”

That is what Peter F. Drucker tried to do in his first book. He tried to free the society from the clutches of economists and their fearful statements such as “Recession” and “Depression.”

In almost all of his books, talks, and lectures throughout his entire life, Drucker tried to shift the focus away from these scary economic statements, and instead replace them with statements such as: “Innovation” and the “Innovative Opportunities.”

But even today, our focus remains on the present economic statements being made, and these statements are based on past reports from various sectors of the economy such as the housing sector, job sector and GDP.

If we remain stuck in the past, completely occupied with present economic statements, our future will remain in recession and depression.

The truth is,
The Economy is not in Recession.
The Economy is not in Depression.
It is the Innovation that is suffering.

Right now, the Innovation is in Recession.
The Innovation is in Depression.

Organizations have ceased all Innovation. Organizations have stopped searching for Opportunities for Innovation.

The Innovators are holding back. The economists are at the forefront and continuing to scare people with their terrifying statements.

We do not presently need more economists.
We DO need more Innovators.

Innovators are the social force that will turn the economies around.