Week 12 Reading Reflection

         To me, the most surprising thing in the reading was how much time and energy should be put into strategic planning. Planning is always helpful but I was unaware that it is a vital step to gaining an entrepreneurial edge.

         One part of the reading that was confusing was the excerpt on Strategic Emphasis: Quality vs. Cost vs. Innovation. The reading states that rapidly growing firms are forced to balance these pulls. In some scenarios, shouldn’t innovation and quality be more important than cost?

         The first question I would ask the author would be why does the term “Growth Wall” have a negative feeling towards it? Wouldn’t most entrepreneurs want to be faced with that kind of ‘good’ problem? Secondly, how can an entrepreneur overcome One-Person-Band Syndrome if the entrepreneur is the one who risked it al to start the company?

         I thought the author was wrong about balancing quality, cost, and innovation. Last week we discussed the importance of innovation and the need for quality is always present. I believe quality, cost, and innovation should all be at different levels at different times.