Week 14 Reading Reflection

One of the most surprising things in this weeks readings was the table 4.2 on chapter 4 where the author discuss the stages of social entrepreneurs behaviors. Here, one of the stages mentioned is philanthropy. I never had previously thought much about businesses donating to any philanthropic cause, and I never thought of it's connection to the entrepreneurial world. However, in this table the author points out its exact benefits and necessity to that of a growing entrepreneurial business.
The sustained corporate entrepreneurship layout was rather confusing to me. The makeup of businesses has always been something I've pondered about, especially that of large corporate companies. However, the larger the brand, the more confusing I truly find it. Though the graph 3.5 did help immensely, I wish each box had been a little more well-explained of what exactly each of those people did and their place in the company. Also, I don't know where I, an entrepreneur, would fit into it, especially that of my own company.
The author talks about the importance of preparing for failure as it's a very real possibility in any entrepreneurial venture and the idea of learning from failures has become common thinking. But besides stating these facts, the author doesn't really discuss how to deal with the actualities of the situation. I'm definitely one to promote learning from your mistakes, but either way, you still have failed in the present, and what can you do to move past this? You may have financial standings that are ruined, or idea that were stolen, or many other possibilities that you are left with in the rubble of your failure, what do you do next to get to that "now look back and learn from your mistake(s)" stage? Then, in chapter 4, the author discuss why unethical behavior remains, even with the knowledge of its misconceptions and clear mistaken choice. However, after listing the five reasons why this might be ignored, the author gives little reason to combat those reasons. The one that stuck out to me was greed, which I think many people view entrepreneurs as, which is then tied into their view that entrepreneurs are thus unethical. How can entrepreneurs move away from that mindset? Even those that actually are greedy, how would the author suggest teaching them that any unethical decisions are still not the right choices?
Under the section titled "Developing Individual Managers for Corporate Entrepreneurship," the author briefly talks about innovative thinking and states that it is foreign to traditional organizations and there are large misconceptions around this idea. However, I think that though it may still be foreign to some rather old-fashioned businesses, I believe many organizations have caught on to the importance of innovative thinking in today's fast-paced world that expects the newest and most open-mindedness in companies they support. An ignorance to such open thinking will only lead to the companies inevitable downfall as the world gravitates towards innovation more and more.