The book is about how imitation is not only important for the survival and prosperity of a business, like innovation, but is also vital for the effective implementation of innovation as such. Imitation often gets a bad rap in business. It is believed that leaders should not repeat other people's ideas; their job is to create and invent. Having studied the experience of many well-known companies, including Apple, Wal-Mart, General Electric and Nintendo, the author shows that many modern business leaders have built their success on imitation, that is, creative processing and development of other people's ideas.