Business Quote by Peter Drucker
“Because its purpose is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two - and only these two — basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are 'costs'.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Practice of Management by Peter Drucker, 1954
Businesses exist to create customers; only marketing and innovation truly add value.
In simple terms: Marketing and innovation drive growth.
Key Takeaway
Focus on value‑creating activities.
Themes
business
marketing
innovation
Mood
pragmatic
instructive
Type
advice
philosophical
When to use this quote
- product development
- customer acquisition
- strategic planning
Key Concepts
Value creation
cost management
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you measure innovation impact?
- What role do support functions play?
A Different Perspective
Other functions also matter.
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
![“If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bad/bertrand-russell-69_acquire_if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy_1379.jpg)