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发帖数: 661 | 1 Entrepreneurs are a unique group of people, but they behave in patterns. In
fact, as I recently wrote here on HBR, my firm's research shows that most
serial entrepreneurs display persuasion, leadership, personal accountability
, goal orientation, and interpersonal skills. But in that same study, we
also discovered a set of skills they do not possess.
To rehash our methods, we assessed subjects identified as serial
entrepreneurs on what personal skills they possessed. Then they were
compared to a control group of 17,000. As before, this group was assessed on
their mastery of 23 practical, job-related skills. We measured whether
skills were well developed, developed, moderately developed, or needed
developing.
After analyzing the data, we found four distinct skills lacking in most
serial entrepreneurs, three skills statistically significantly and one other
also noticeably lacking. The statistical significance is derived by
comparing the lowest ranking skills to the entrepreneurs' top skills, as
evaluated in the first study.
Key Traits of a Serial Entrepreneur
Empathy is one of the qualities serial entrepreneurs lack most.
Entrepreneurs build things and solve problems for people, but according to
this study they do this in hopes of a return on investment. Entrepreneurs
may have high empathy on an intellectual level, in that they want to produce
a product or service that will help someone. This is often, however, also
tied to the entrepreneur receiving a return for their time and effort, which
people with high empathy do not generally expect.
Entrepreneurial-minded people are not proficient in managing themselves and
their time. In many jobs, managing personal day-to-day tasks might take away
from accomplishing larger company goals, which are critical to
entrepreneurs. Since entrepreneurs typically have many projects underway at
one time, they simply do not have time to micromanage each. Often they need
assistance managing everyday tasks and should hire or delegate them to
someone who has mastered this skill.
This leads to another skill entrepreneurs lack: planning and organizing.
Similar to self-management, if entrepreneurs spent time planning and
organizing every task or meeting, they would never get anything else done.
Once again, hiring someone to keep their calendar, organize meetings and
events, keep the office de-cluttered, and help keep them on schedule can put
them at an advantage.
Entrepreneurs also do not excel above the control group when it comes to
analytical problem solving. They have high utilitarian motivators (potential
future gains, monetary returns, new products or ideas), so their focus is
often on making a quick decision. They have a sense of urgency in decision-
making, and by nature they do not have time to collect and analyze the data.
They see numbers as getting in their way, and they should - everyone who
has told them an idea wouldn't pan out has used data and logic to illustrate
that point. For example, Martin Luther King Jr. stated, "I have a dream."
He did not say, "I have a plan and strategy." Entrepreneurs have the vision,
but need to employ people to create an executable strategy and carry it
through.
Entrepreneurial-minded individuals possess a distinct set of skills that
lead to great leadership and ideas. Perhaps the skills they have not
mastered are equally important. With an understanding of those weaknesses,
they can compensate for them by surrounding themselves with people who excel
in these areas. As a leader, realizing other's strengths and dovetailing
them into your own weaknesses is key to developing a team that will carry
out your grand vision and achieve goals.
More blog posts by Bill J. Bonnstetter
More on: Entrepreneurship, Managing yourself |
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