Kennedy Butler
EEE 2083
18 September 2022
Discussion Paper 3- Tucker: The Man and His Dream
The automotive industry was a simple one for some time. A few min competitors that all worked their products in a similar way. Few options for all the customers, everyone was happy. What about disruptive innovation? What would happen to the industry and society if this happened?
This film is about Preston Tucker and his dream to manufacture a new and innovative car, the best car ever made! Through various trials and setbacks, not to mention taking place during the peak of World War 2, Tucker, through the help of others, specifically Abe Karatez, and selling processes, he is able to raise money and funds to turn his dream into a reality. This film is entrepreneurial because first, Tucker obtains these entrepreneurial qualities and the mindset of how to make things happen and create something great. Furthermore, this is entrepreneurial as it kind of reminds me of “disruptive innovation”. There is mention of the Big Three throughout the film, which I touch on in the next paragraph and this film shows how Tucker desired to make an automobile that had features and qualities that the products of these “Big Three” were missing.
Something that I thought was interesting about this film is the fact that it is based on a true story of Preston Tucker’s life. I did some more reading and research further about his life and thought it was very fascinating that he worked for Ford and even further on in life sold many other models of automobiles. In addition, we did some discussion in class about the Big Three in automotive manufacturing and I had never really heard much about it until then, and this film unpacks that a bit more, which I thought was interesting. There was this idea of how things were supposed to be done because of these Big Three.
This aspect of entrepreneurship affects society in the way I mentioned in paragraph one, disruptive innovation. Up until this point (being the 1940s) automobiles were basically manufactured a certain way and it seems to be the way “things have always been done”, that is until Tucker brought the disruption and threat to the Big Three with his Tucker Sedan. This is something I feel like we are seeing time and time again throughout society (the example I always go back to is Netflix adapting and bringing in the market of streaming services that put companies like Blockbuster out of business). This new way of producing automobiles affected society simply is breaking the “trend” of how things were done in this era. On the flip side, this aspect of society did stifle this aspect of entrepreneurship in a way. With setbacks of the War and the constant fear of the Big Three, Tucker faced challenges. This goes for any society and time period when there is a disruptive innovation, there will always be pushback. Honestly, some people will always be against change and prefer the “status quo”. Maybe this is why it is vital to find that niche that leads to entrepreneurial and cultural breakthrough?
In conclusion, disruptive innovation has been around for some time and is something I personally think will never go away, not with entrepreneurs with big ideas like Preston Tucker that are out there. But is it so bad? Maybe, perhaps, it makes our world a better place.
Sources
https://www.automotivehalloffame.org/honoree/preston-tucker/
Gif:
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