My favorite definition of an entrepreneur has been 'One who recognizes opportunities and organizes resources to take advantage of the opportunity'. But I read a new one in a post a couple of days ago - actually, it was conceived 37 years ago by Harvard Business School professor Howard Stevenson - that puts the 'organizes resources' in a different light. Stevenson's definition of entrepreneurship is 'the pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled.'
The 'without regard to resources' is an interesting differentiation. This implies that, to an entrepreneur, the appeal of the opportunity is more important than the availability of the resources to execute on the opportunity. At every step the entrepreneur looks at what should be done and then figures out how to do it - instead of the standard approach of looking at what can be done and how it should be made to fit. The entrepreneurial approach starts with the results required instead of the resources available. Looking back at some of the great entrepreneur stories (Steve Jobs for example) this seems to have definitely been the case. The post also quotes Stevenson on how more entrepreneurs start out poor instead of rich as they are less constrained by lack of resources. (Though that didn't apply to Bill Gates.)
I do like the definition though. You can see it in all the entrepreneurs who boot-strap their way to success. It is what drives entrepreneurs to work with contractors to build prototypes if they don't have co-founders, and not be afraid to do marketing and sales even if their own background is in engineering. They are not stuck in the comfort zone of requiring all the questions to be answered before going after the opportunity. Maybe it's just another way of saying that an entrepreneur is - cheers, you guessed it! - a risk-taker. You can read the Inc.com post here.
Channeling the inner entrepreneur who views life as a startup. Musings about people, their spirit, the startup ethos and the entrepreneurial attitude, with an emphasis on education and social ventures. The 'how-to'? Not so much. But definitely the why, the what and the whatever.
Resolution time
January 1 is just another day on the calendar, but for many it's the day that brings the usual push to make resolutions to better ourselves. It is something that many do every single year - if we're not cynical, we'd see it as a testament to the fact that hope (for improvement) springs eternal in the human breast.
Mark Cuban, billionaire entrepreneur, has a new book out in which he contends that if you want to give yourself the best chance of success you should work harder. According to Mark, this is because the only thing that is under your control is the effort you put in. This article takes Mark's guidance and suggests that putting in more effort (setting goals and measuring results) is a worthy resolution for the new year.
All good. Effort, not just time worked but striving towards goals, is absolutely necessary for success and is a good idea for your resolution list. But, I do not agree that 'the only thing that anyone...can control is their effort'. I believe there is one thing that is much more important, in fact, you wouldn't be putting in the effort without it. That thing is attitude. Attitude is something that you can absolutely control, and your attitude will determine your success (and the effort you put towards it). My suggestion? Put in the effort to 'cultivate a positive, can-do attitude' at the top of your to-do list. The rest will follow. Happy 2012!
Mark Cuban, billionaire entrepreneur, has a new book out in which he contends that if you want to give yourself the best chance of success you should work harder. According to Mark, this is because the only thing that is under your control is the effort you put in. This article takes Mark's guidance and suggests that putting in more effort (setting goals and measuring results) is a worthy resolution for the new year.
All good. Effort, not just time worked but striving towards goals, is absolutely necessary for success and is a good idea for your resolution list. But, I do not agree that 'the only thing that anyone...can control is their effort'. I believe there is one thing that is much more important, in fact, you wouldn't be putting in the effort without it. That thing is attitude. Attitude is something that you can absolutely control, and your attitude will determine your success (and the effort you put towards it). My suggestion? Put in the effort to 'cultivate a positive, can-do attitude' at the top of your to-do list. The rest will follow. Happy 2012!
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