The Complete Entrepreneur
What are the characteristics of the successful entrepreneur? Here is what I have found among those I’ve met:
– Intellectual acuity. They are sharp, agile, and fast-on-their feet. Through their intellect they become an object of interest to others.
– Self-determination. They do not rely on the largesse of others to achieve success. They realize they can control their destiny, and will attempt to move both molehills and mountains to reach goals. They don’t whine and there are not “victims.”
– Enthusiasm. They are passionate and animated about what they do, and instill that in others through osmosis, camaraderie, and sheer delight.
– Humor. They laugh at misfortune, especially their own. They are able to maintain perspective come hell or high water. They do not feel they are on a holy mission, but rather a joyous journey.
– Indefatigability. They persevere and persist. The don’t take rejection personally or as a commentary of their self-worth. They do the right things repeatedly, not expecting magical results without commensurate hard work.
– Flexibility. They can often turn on the proverbial dime. They focus on outcome and not input, and will modify and change based on customer and market needs, rather than attempt to force others to meet their own pre-conceived conditions. They are opportunistic.
– Support structure: They have people around them—family, friends, and/or colleagues—who provide mentoring and reality checks. The help to commiserate in the lows and congratulate during the highs. They lend perspective.
– Time and spatial clarity. They know where they are in terms of historical trends and contemporary forces which affect them. They do not operate in the vacuum of their zeal, so they are impassioned but not zealots.
– Wealth perspective. They realize that money is not wealth, but merely fuel for real wealth, which includes discretionary time, freedom, and independence.
– Empathy. They relate to others’ needs and situations, and are able to make compelling appeals to the perceived well-being of others.
– Time management. They organize themselves for maximum effectiveness, recognizing that when everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. They do not allow minutiae to overwhelm them.
– Presence. They impress others as socially adept and confident and not one-dimensional. They are a pleasure, not a burden, to be with.
© Alan Weiss 2007. All rights reserved.
Shawn Callahan
I have just finished reading The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb and he makes the good point I think that if you looked at failed entrepreneurs your would find many, perhaps all, of the same characteristics. And luck is a generally unacknowledged aspect of success. It is just that we are terrific at constructing a story about why something is happening which gives us the false sense of understanding. This then leaves us open by being blind-sided by catastrophic, unpredictable events. Well worth a read as a tonic for our standard ways of thinking.
PaulEvans
Alan, succinct as always. No amount of venture capital can replace those traits.
Aviv Shahar
Alan – this is a great list, equally pertinent under the title “traits of great leaders”.
May I suggest adding the following traits:
Learn-ability: They are avid learners, distilling applicable knowledge from every situation and experience, triumph and setback. They are curious and fascinated by many fields and are capable of connecting the seemingly unrelated to create new opportunities and growth.
Self insight: They know themselves well, are capable of introspection and understand their strengths and vulnerabilities. They are self-aware, are in touch with their state and energy cycles, and have the capacity for fast recovery and for concentrated full engagement.
Aviv Shahar
http://www.avivshahar.com