What Is An Entrepreneur?

Many years have been spent on searching for the secret of successful entrepreneurial behaviour. Since the emergence of entrepreneurship as an academic field of study about 15 years ago, distilling the essence of entrepreneurial behaviour has been one of the continuous themes.

We have managed to identify a few aspects fairly clearly.

First, no one is genetically programmed to be an entrepreneur: it is not something you are born with. Second, we have found little that would suggest most people, given their background and behaviour, cannot emulate the behaviour of successful entrepreneurs. It is more a matter of will, persistence and environment.

 

In both Manfred Kets de Vries and Howard Stevensons articles you should gain more insight into the nature of entrepreneurs and some of the common behaviours that have been observed. Howard Stevensons framework has had a considerable impact on our understanding of entrepreneurs. Manfred Kets de Vries work on the psychology of entrepreneurs has been ground-breaking.

What is clear from their work and that of others is that entrepreneurship is a mode of behaviour, both complex and multidimensional. In individuals, teams, corporations and economies, it is something that may be encouraged or discouraged, conditioned or avoided. The main point, however, is that we can, and often do, learn to change behaviour.

Let me emphasise a few types of behaviour and related issues that I would like to add to the perspectives in the articles.

Behaviour that is quite profound in entrepreneurs we have observed is the level of their initiative, persistence and belief. Most entrepreneurs have to overcome significant odds to develop and fully capture their opportunities. The nature of the process in which entrepreneurs are involved requires significant levels of out of the box (non-traditional) thinking, along with positive initiative.

Entrepreneurs are not fixated on the money. They like money but see it as something they can use as a base for other opportunities and as a measure of success.

The third point concerns risk. Do entrepreneurs take risks? The answer is absolutely. You will find most of them are fairly conscious and careful with risks. You will not often find them running off to Monte Carlo or Las Vegas. Rather, they manage risks and maintain a risk-neutral profile.

The fourth point is that most effective entrepreneurs are good at managing failure. Entrepreneurs must deal with failures throughout the pursuit of their opportunities and many who are successful have dealt with failure. Failure is a natural outcome of taking risks and showing initiative.

Finally, remember, that luck plays a role in their success. It is a difficult factor to assess or quantify. Sometimes, however, relatively small differences in fortune separate successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurs in the same business. To paraphrase Napoleon, I would rather have someone who is lucky rather than smart. This luck factor may be why many successful entrepreneurs retain their humility despite their success.