At any rate, the story of Sony’s Walkman is a valuable business lesson and I like the way Peter Drucker put it:
“Every organization must be prepared to abandon everything it does to survive in the future.”

Wharton’s Knowledge Today has a good post about this: When the Walkman Roamed.

Change is a constant!

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Forget about panicking and stop the stupidity of worrying – this is my opinion on what to do about the worst recession since the Great Depression and the pending pandemic of swine flu. Once you recognize a problem, find a solution or better yet TEN solutions, and then focus on the solutions.

A while back I wrote an article about Creative Problem Solving for Leaders and I recommend that you read it. Thinking creatively about solutions is one of the most valuable skill sets to have. Continually exercising your creative mind to innovate produces substance that is above and beyond what most others produce.

But at the end of the day, don’t focus on the problems, find solutions and focus your energy and passion on the solutions.

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Leaders and Entrepreneurship 

Entrepreneurship is a special skill set. Some great entrepreneurs are not-so-great leaders or managers, but successful leaders need to master some of the entrepreneurship skill set. There is a “new” word that is thrown around – Intrapreneurship – to represent the entrepreneurial activities internal to an organization. I don’t particularly like this term and think most businesses would be better off if leaders learn and adapt a bit of entrepreneurial focus as a part of being successful and enduring in business.

In my view, there are eight character traits of entrepreneurs – singular-focus, self-driven, ambitious, achievement oriented, imaginative, innovative, independent, and versatile. These traits are evident in notable entrepreneurs behind the success of major corporations and these traits are the complimentary strengths that provide the conduit for an entrepreneur to succeed in business.

Some differentiation is necessary to discuss social and business entrepreneurs. The differentiation in my view is based on two areas external to character traits. Those areas are motivations and outlook.

The Traits of Entrepreneurs

An entrepreneur has a singular focus about his business to the extent that a lot of the other facets of his life are sometimes treated as distractions. It allows him to concentrate on the business tasks for long hours and many days. It allows him to know his plan thoroughly and keeps him on track with his plan. His singular focus drives his activities, consolidates his time, and determines when and how he works.

An entrepreneur is self-driven, self-starting. He wakes up early in the morning and stays late at night with the attachment to the job of starting and running his businesses. He does not need external motivation and is even resistant to what may de-motivate other business people.

An entrepreneur is ambitious. His goals are set high and he works hard to achieve those goals. The old analogy of shooting for the moon is not enough. An entrepreneur shoots for the stars, so that at a minimum he will reach the moon.

An entrepreneur is achievement oriented which is closely related to his ambitious nature. It is the accomplishment and the achievement which are the object of the entrepreneur’s yearnings. He gains satisfaction and excitement from the achievement itself. Like an addict, any failures are merely treated as the down cycles while the entrepreneur seeks out the next high. He does not wait for someone to give him an opportunity, but is driven to create the opportunity.

An entrepreneur is imaginative. His perspective of his business and his market lead to creative problem solving, early recognition of emerging trends, and even the ideas to instigate the “next” trends. It is Albert Einstein who is often quoted with, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Imagination is important for an entrepreneur.

An entrepreneur is innovative. His innovation is the benefit of his imagination. He does not merely evaluate the business environment as it is, but is able to think about what it could be. An entrepreneur thinks outside of the constraints to which traditional business people are bound. His innovations are the products or services of his business.

An entrepreneur is independent. He is not influenced by other people’s opinions nor is he controlled by another’s ideas. His imagination benefits from his independence. He is able to remain focused, determined, and “on track” with his plans because of his independence.

An entrepreneur is versatile. He is able to adapt his business tactics to changes in the market as well as able to fill multiple roles within his business. He is not limited to the function of an operations manager, but also an accountant, marketer, logistician, and human resource manager. The versatility through multiple roles does not take away from his singular-focus, but forms the fibers that strengthen the singular-focus of starting up and running his business. This versatility for an entrepreneur is one of the most important characteristics.

Robert Moment wrote about seven characteristics that are inherent to successful entrepreneurs. He listed the successful entrepreneurs “gain the respect of their peers,” “believe and trust in themselves,” “follow a plan,” “think creatively,” “explore their exceptional skills,” “envision their success,” and “never give up” (Moment, 2004). From this list, you can determine a successful entrepreneur to be respectable, confident, knowledgeable, creative, experienced and determined, but I think this list is standard of any successful businessperson and not merely inherent to entrepreneurs.

There is a notable attribute that is specifically characteristic of entrepreneurs, “Entrepreneurs have a never-ending sense of urgency to develop their ideas. Inactivity makes them impatient, tense, and uneasy” (BusinessTown.com, 2003). This is the result of the combination of the entrepreneur’s self-driven and ambitious nature that is oriented on achievement.

The Social Nature of Entrepreneurship

There is another view of entrepreneurship which is too often overlooked or otherwise misconstrued and that is “entrepreneurship as a social endeavor” (Byers, Kist, & Sutton, 1997). Byers et al. state the social nature of entrepreneurship as “how people identify which relationships will be crucial to the success of their venture, and how they develop and maintain the relationships that enable their firm to obtain the information, funds, legitimacy, and help needed for their firm to survive and flourish” (Byers et al., 1997). The social nature builds on the independence of the entrepreneur to develop interdependence with investors.

The social nature of entrepreneurship does not take away from the independence of entrepreneurs, but, rather, leads to the emphasis on the value of the entrepreneur’s independence. In the volatile environment that surrounds a start-up, an entrepreneur will need to discover, meet, and negotiate with venture capitalists, angel investors, manufacturers, distributors, marketers, and other personal that may be needed to garner and sustain the success of the business. These relationships while social in nature and requiring a cordial skill-set are not the buddy-next-door friendships; there remains a professional element. A venture capitalist, angel investor, or any other business professional will still retain the ability to decline an offer. It is this potential for rejection that an entrepreneur’s independence will become an asset. An independent person will maintain the faith and confidence in his business idea and will stay focused on executing the plan for the start of the business. An independent person will drive on to the next possibility.

Examples from Entrepreneurs

Bill Gates is predominately touted as the example of the potential for entrepreneurs and who better than the guy who started his own company, built an industry giant, and amassed the largest personal net worth. The Wall Street Journal’s write up about Gates for Breakaway list his most significant attribute by stating he “refuses to be complacent” (Breakaway, 1999). His refusal to be complacent resonates with his ambitious and achievement-oriented character.

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is another regarded entrepreneur whose independence and singular-focus have propelled his company through the Dot Com crash and on to being a highly profitable online retailer. Bezos’s traits are summed by Joshua Quittner, “Bezos, naturally enough, is unmoved by the nay saying…” (Quittner, 1999). Bezos maintains inherent characteristics to resist what may de-motivate other business leaders.

Steve Jobs – “an obsessive perfectionist who insists on having total control over the most minute product details” (Burrows, Green, & Grover, 2006) – is a versatile entrepreneur with a singular-focus on achievement. His obsessive nature is the evidence of his singular-focus, being a perfectionist is evidence of his self-driven characteristic, and taking control over minute details of a product while being the CEO of a major corporation is evidence of his versatility. Steve Jobs is the focused, driven, and versatile entrepreneur behind the success Apple.

Social vs. Business Entrepreneurs

There can be a differentiation drawn between social and business entrepreneurs. Business entrepreneurs are those individuals that one naturally thinks of when thinking of the word – entrepreneur. A business entrepreneur discovers an opportunity in the commercial market and builds a company to fill that opportunity. A business entrepreneur is motivated by financial success and other types of achievement.

A social entrepreneur is different. As Gina Vega and Roland Kidwell writes, “despite the fact that many social entrepreneurs are interested in effectively managing their ventures in a business-like manner, the biggest contrast between social entrepreneurs and private sector entrepreneurs is the nature of the immediate return each tends to seek” (Vega and Kidwell, 2007). Social entrepreneurs find innovative solutions to social problems. The return on their investment is the value to the social community in which they operate rather than in monetary returns; often times, the returns on their efforts are not even concretely measurable, but their value is still determinable.

Conclusion

Of the eight traits of the entrepreneur – singular-focus, self-driven, ambitious, achievement-oriented, imaginative, innovative, independent, and versatile – there are four most significant traits for entrepreneurs. The most significant traits for an entrepreneur are: to have singular-focus, to be self-driven, to be independent, and to be versatile. These traits are evident in Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Steve Jobs and these traits are complimentary for the success of an entrepreneur.

These traits are the similarities social and business entrepreneurs while they differentiate on the opportunities they address and the returns on investment that they seek.

References

Breakaway (A Special Report): 20th Century Legacy — Bill Gates: the PC everywhere. Wall Street Journal. New York: November 29, 1999. P. 16.

Burrows, P., Green, H., & Grover, R. Steve’ Jobs Magic Kingdom. Business Week. New York: February 6, 2006, Iss. 3970, P. 62.

BusinessTown.com. (2003) Profile of an Entrepreneur. Retrieved from http://www.Businesstown.com/entrepreneur/article1.asp.

Byers, T., Kist, H., & Sutton, R. (October 27, 1997) Characteristics of the Entrepreneur: Social creatures, not solo heroes. Retrieved from http://www.stanford.edu/class/e145/materials/Characteristics.html

Einstein, A. (October 26, 1929) What Life Means to Einstein. The Saturday Evening Post.

Moment, R. (2004) 7 Traits of an Exceptional & Successful Entrepreneur. Retrieved from http://www.wahmconnections.com/entrepreneur.htm.

Quittner, J. An Eye on the Future. Time. New York: December 27, 1999. Vol. 154, Iss. 26. P. 56. 10 Pgs.

Vega, Gina, Roland E. Kidwell, (Fall 2007) Toward a Typology of New Venture Creators: Similarities and Contrasts Between Business and Social Entrepreneurs, New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, Fairfield, Vol.10, Iss. 2. pg. 15

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Persistence – the act of enduring despite… regardless of… in the face of… even with… even though… A leader is persistent. If there are setbacks, if there are obstacles, if the going gets tough, a leader is persistent. It’s the act of determination that stems from the depths of confidence and the strength that is derived form experience.

Leadership quote from Peter Drucker:
“It is easy to look good in a boom.”

Right now, in the US, we are faced with the prospect of a recession – technically defined as two or more consecutive quarters of negative growth. So, right now, we need a greater emphasis on leadership in organizations. We need those business man and women, who through experience and knowledge, are able to drive our businesses through this economic period where only select businesses will “look good” while others are merely positioned to endure through this an economic downturn and still others will crumble under the weight of tough times.

It takes leadership to look good in a decline.

Creativity and Innovation

When economic times get tough, then it is time for leaders to rise to the challenge and find creative solutions to the problem. This is not as straight forward as cutting costs or cutting jobs. These, short-term solutions may cause more long-term problems. Sometimes the solution is a realignment, restructuring, or, some other, repositioning of the business.

No “One” solution

There is never a one-size-fits-all solution. Some corporations have a problem of too much money on hand, like Berkshire Hatheway, while others may have cut costs a bit too far and are now losing value, the Dell and Wal-Mart problems.

Leadership

It’s the job of leadership to determine the best path. It’s not as black-and-white as to say the correct path, for there may be more than one correct way to go. Rather, it’s an indeterminate measurement of “best.” It’s a matter of core competence in conjunction with the market’s evolution and countering competition. Sometimes the best answer is to R & D an entirely new product, modify the existing product, or add a service to complement the buyer’s experience. Whatever the “best” answer, the job is leadership.

Rise to the challenge and persist.

Leadership quote from Thomas Edison:
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

The leader does not give up.

For assistance, see Creative Problem Solving for Leadership.

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There are always problems and often there is more than one solution to the problem.  The task of leadership is to know the right path to lead an organization, while the task of management is to know the right way to trudge that path.  As leaders, we know that the best solutions or the optimal outcome is not necessarily the easiest, the clearest, or even the best reasoned.  Sometimes there is more than meets the eye.

Leadership quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson:
“Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

When I first heard about the term “creative problems solving,” I learned a valuable exercise.  I was told to create a list of ten solutions to each problem you encounter.  You may find that the first or second solution is optimal.  However, learning how to exercise the mind and find nine more solutions, teaches you how to think outside the box, how to see every angle to a problem, and how to determine some very creative solutions.

7 Solutions

Creative solutions are not dealing with the straight-forward causal-type of reasoning, but delve deeper to find what may be better than you could ever have reasoned before.  It’s determining that new frontier to lead your organization.  With the promise that developing your creative outlook to problems will benefit you and your organization, I present a list of 7 Solutions for Creative Problem-Solving:

1. Sleep on it

Creativity stems from the unconscious, and more powerful, mind.  Sometimes, in order to bring the thoughts to your conscious, you need to give your mind a rest.  You don’t always need to give it a full nights sleep, but sometimes a good power-nap will work wonders.

2. “Clear the mind” meditation

If taking a nap may be a bit too unorthodox for your workplace, then try to clear your mind.  Having already given great thought to the problem, take a moment to stop thinking about it, just clear the mind.  The creativity will work its way to the forefront of your conscious with relaxation.

3. Sit in a whirlpool or take a shower

Water works wonders to help you relax and relaxation works wonders to bring out the creative.

4. Go to the gym

A good work out will focus the exercise of your muscles and release important chemicals in your body.  Those chemicals help to counter stress and clear the mind.

5. Go for a walk

This is the technique that I use the most.  It’s quite easy to get up and walk around the building or walk around the block.  A brisk walk will produce similar effects to a work out, but without the need to shower afterwards.

6. Go to lunch

Break for lunch and feed your body.  The body naturally responds positively to a healthy lunch and you can find the break to be sufficient for the creative juices.

7. Have a jovial conversation

Joking with friends and colleagues is very healthy.  The laughter creates positive effects on the mind and the break will allow you to find the solutions to problems.

Innovation

Whatever technique you utilize, continually seeking 10 solutions to every problem will teach your mind to think creatively (the great business concept of innovation) about problems and solutions.  You will be able to think up solutions that may even surprise you at time and may prove wonders for the success of your organization.

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