Dear Entrepreneur,
I know YOU want to be the one who succeeds.
On one hand, entrepreneurship is an exciting proposition for people with ideas and the enthusiasm to bring them to life.
On the other hand, most people fail in the process.
Most people just don't know enough about their own disposition to keep from failing.
What I mean is this.
People who are bound and determined to be entrepreneurs fail their way to success. I know that's true because I've seen it in my own life and in my business coaching practice of some 18 years.
What's become clear to me is that you can beat the odds .
It really is a simple process.
The trouble?
Most people don't make the right decision to know what it takes, before they fail.
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Hi Mike,
Just wanted to drop you a note to say thank you for setting up the EP class. The information they provided was so right on. I wished I would have had this when I was a new director at Qwest and setting up a new Software Quality Assurance division. I could see the incredible value in getting the right people doing the right job. I know it may sound weird but I can hardly wait for the holidays to be over so we can move on. I haven't felt this excited about something since - I don't know? Maybe never. I just shiver with excitement. Thanks for all you do!
Terry
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Entrepreneurship doesn't have to be as hard as people make it.
Success as an entrepreneur has been shown to be available to almost any personality type, and anyone who understands the necessary ingredients of successful entrepreneurship.
I struggled for years because I kept trying to fit my conception of the world to the world, rather than seeing the world as it is.
Jack Welch, retired CEO of GE and author of the book WINNING often stated the secret to his and the success of GE was to really understand business reality.
"The entrepreneur always searches for change,
responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity."
- Peter F. Drucker
The Entrepreneurial Propensity Assessment is the fastest way to understand the 7 key elements of successful entrepreneurship.
Let me explain:
Recent research has identified how to measure Entrepreneurial Propensity based on seven attributes that strongly distinguish successful entrepreneurs from the general population.
Successful entrepreneurial endeavors need management teams that have compatible personalities yet complimentary business and leadership skills. An individual's management skills and leadership style can only take a business model so far. What becomes critical and essential for any entrepreneur are the opportunities for alliances, partnerships and resources from other leaders whose style and skills compliment their own.
Enter: THE ENTREPRENEURIAL PROPENSITY ASSESSMENT
In an actionable approach identified through Entrepreneurial Propensity (EP) Assessments, it becomes clear how people measure up to the requirements of successful business in the 21st Century.
The EP assessment identifies and relates an overall EP score on a 1 to 9
scale where the general US population scores about 4.5 and highly
successful experienced entrepreneurs score above 7.5.
The primary use of the overall EP score is to help predict how likely a person is to be comfortable in a leadership role in an entrepreneurial environment, and whether they will excel in a start-up venture, are better suited to an established entrepreneurial business or will perform well in a large company environment.
In general, overall scores below 5 usually indicate that the individual will not be very happy in an entrepreneurial leadership role and particularly in a start-up environment where there is a lack of structure and detail, lots of ambiguity, regular risk taking, strong need for creativity, and very little occasion to have any external recognition or role model opportunities.
Maybe you don't want to hear this feedback, but some people are destined to fail...
Some people are much better suited to a large corporate environment which will provide structure, recognition opportunities and much less risk taking.
Scores from 5-6 indicate that the individual has some propensity but would probably be better suited to a later stage venture or a medium-sized company which has established a level of structure, has gained momentum, and has less risk associated with it.
Scores from 6-7 indicate that the person will enjoy and probably have success in most entrepreneurial environments but still may have some issues in a start-up. This person generally enjoys the faster pace, more creative and less structured atmosphere and sees risk taking as an opportunity to challenge them selves.
Scores above 7 usually indicate a person who will thrive as a leader in most entrepreneurial environments but probably enjoys early stage ventures most. Successful “serial entrepreneurs” often have scores in the 7.2-7.8 range. This group of people thrives on innovation, challenges of creating products, markets and opportunities, enjoys finding and taking calculated risks with a very high sense of urgency to accomplish ambitious goals.
From research data, attributes that strongly distinguish successful entrepreneurs from the general population can be identified quickly and easily.
In many cases, the individual's score can be lower for several reasons, which we discuss below, so we present a score along with the description of what may influence the individual's score. In all cases, a high score means that the individual has the correct blend of characteristics for that attribute and a low score means that some aspect of their personality may cause them to be less successful in that area.
The seven attributes assessed in the EP are:
Need for Independence/Autonomy
An individual who scores greater than 6.5 in this attribute is self-motivated, prefers an environment where they have the freedom to act on goals or tasks with little or no direct supervision, and is comfortable taking personal responsibility for their action yet is also willing to seek advice.
A strong score in this attribute is particularly important in early stage entrepreneurial companies where there may not be much day-to-day interaction or feedback from others and there is less structure in the environment.
A score in this area may be lower because the individual prefers more direction and structure, is less comfortable taking personal responsibility, or may be too strongly autonomous and not open to advice/direction. Successful entrepreneurs consistently seek advice that then factor into their decision-making.
Need for and belief in ability to achieve
An individual who scores greater than 6.5 in this attribute is very goal-oriented and often driven to pursue and attain challenging goals and objectives. A high score indicates that the desire to excel is self-imposed and the individual uses objective standards to "keep score" of the goals - measurement of profits, sales, customers, inventions, etc.
Most successful entrepreneurs are optimistic and have an intense level of determination to set and surpass their goals and objectives. Lower scores in this area may be due to setting less ambitious goals, preferring to have externally derived goals, or setting but not strongly trying to reach goals.
Need to innovate or create
This attribute incorporates three distinct characteristics; problem solving skills, business innovation skills and inventiveness skills. Research has shown that the later two characteristics are most difficult to develop through training. An individual who scores between 5 and 6 in this attribute usually has good problem solving skills and is either innovative in their approach to processes, markets, or opportunities or is an inventor who wants to create new products or services. Most like tackling challenges and desire a certain amount of diversity in their work environment.
Lower scores in this area may be due to applying fairly standard business practices to problem solving rather than trying new approaches to business systems and processes or having no desire to invent or create new products or services. Since this attribute combines three distinct characteristics any individual with a score above six has a unique blend of creativity skills. In a team, different individuals can excel in different aspects, making the team have the necessary blend of innovation and creativity for success.
Need for Recognition
An individual who scores greater than 6 in this attribute sees personal acclaim and status as a role model as an outcome of the work they have done with the team and venture they have built, and are more likely to credit their team than claim or desire recognition for themselves.
Individuals who need external acknowledgement for the contributions or have a strong desire to act as a role model will have lower scores in this attribute. Seeking external acknowledgement or choosing to act as a role model may cause an individual to make decisions which will adversely affect their venture thereby lowering its probability of success.
Tolerance for Risk
An individual who scores greater than 6.5 in this attribute will generally feel they understand the risk versus reward of decisions they make and often work to get others to share a portion of the risk.
Successful entrepreneurs are calculated risk-takers who generally avoid both very high and very low risk situations but readily accept the challenge of making risky decisions. They realize risks are an inherent part of life as well as an entrepreneurial environment and accept ones they can calculate as having a likely chance of success.
This attribute ties fairly strongly to the individual's drive for achievement (see above). A tendency to take too much risk or a reluctance to assume risks on both a business and personal level can lower an individual's risk score.
Multitasking Capability
An individual who scores greater than 6 on this attribute is able to juggle a number of projects or tasks, is willing to accept less than perfect results, and can handle a level of ambiguity and lack of structure and organization in their work environment. They tolerate changes, surprises, and lack of control over the environment. People who need excessive details and precision or highly systematized or structured environments are expected to have a lower multitasking capability score and are less likely to be successful in entrepreneurial environments, especially early stage ones.
Financial Goals
An individual who scores above 6.5 in this attribute uses financial measures to quantify and demonstrate their ability to build a successful business to people outside their enterprise.
Successful entrepreneurs measure both venture and personal success in part on financial results. However, while financial gain is an important measure of success, it should not be the main goal. This trait also indicates how a person uses business and personal financial measures to gauge their overall success and lower scores can be from an over use of financial measures or from an inconsistent use of this metric.
No single leadership style is more successful than others
A diversity of leadership styles and balanced individual entrepreneurial success attributes can greatly strengthen an entrepreneurial venture's management team. The Entrepreneurial Propensity Assessment provides information on leadership styles that reflect how a person instinctively acts in a leadership role.
Leadership skills can be trained and improved but we focus our assessment on the style a person under pressure will most commonly display, as this is the environment of most entrepreneurial ventures. This “under pressure” or instinctive style probably best characterizes the entrepreneurial leader. It is important to note that no single style is more or less entrepreneurial than any other style and that successful entrepreneurs exist in each leadership style.
Leadership Styles
The EP leadership profile determines an individual's leadership style and shows where they fall on the graph of the four management style quadrants. The EP provides a description of the main characteristics of the leadership quadrant and recommends that the business design employs at least two other leadership styles.
A diversity of styles on the team will increase the likelihood that more perspectives are considered in venture decisions. In some cases, we recommend certain leadership styles more strongly based on the type of business model. For example, a business design that is highly people/service oriented would benefit from having several individuals with diplomatic and logistical leadership styles.
The EP also shows where within the style quadrant, an individual is located as most people are not squarely located within one quadrant but rather exhibit some skills in other leadership styles. This extra measure also helps you better understand how to match teammates.
Team Business Skills
Entrepreneurial teams, whether in the form of co-founders or hired managers, must have a blend of business skill sets in order to be successful. Some of the key skills needed include:
- Sales and Marketing Experience
Research studies have shown that in all ventures, but particularly technology-oriented ventures, having a sales person in the founding team can improve the success rate of the venture by as much as 300 percent.
- Operations and Personnel supervision experience
At least two years personnel supervision experience by any one individual on the founding team improves success rates by almost 200 percent .
- Product development and R & D expertise
Product development experience (versus technology or research experience) can improve a team's success by 35 percent.
- Administration and Management experience
These skills are particularly important in a start-up or small company as basic business procedures and skills are often common yet fatal mistakes in new ventures.
- Accounting/Finance experience
New ventures need to have in house accounting/finance skills or make sure that work is outsourced properly as failure to pay or comply with tax rules and poor cash flow management dooms many new ventures.
Research shows that when all of these skills are represented in the entrepreneurial management team, the likelihood of success is improved significantly.
In the final portion of the Entrepreneurial Propensity Assessment, EP results recommend potential partners for the entrepreneurial venture in which the individual is interested.
Based on the business skills and interests the individual assessed displays, we recommend additional partners whose business skills and leadership styles would be complimentary and would strengthen the venture's potential success.
Make Things Happen…in a systematic decision-making process using knowledge of your self and entrepreneurial success with the entrepreneurial propensity assessment and our coaching feedback.
Identify where you stand on the Entrepreneurial Propensity Scale and get
information you can use immediately to hedge your success.
Order the Assessment Now and Receive Instruction from a
Master Business Coach included for a small investment in
your future of $ 297
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Can you afford to be wrong about your entrepreneurial ability?
Mike Jay, Master Business Coach, stopped counting at 10,000 coaching sessions and has worked with more than 1500 clients spanning fields as diverse as athletics, agriculture, medicine and hospitality over more than 25 years in his professional career as a entrepreneur, manager, consultant, leader and coach. Mike has written 100s of articles, books and papers on a variety of subjects in almost every known aspect of coaching.
Mike has trained 1000s of people with his ideas and continues to innovate daily with his clients. Mike has worked with people in EDS, Ford, Coca-Cola, Exxon, JP Morgan, the Army and 100s of other companies around the world, including business in Russia, India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, Germany, Canada, England and South America.
He is the founder of Leadership University and continues to teach to learn and to learn to teach through a virtual community spanning the globe in more than 25 countries. Mike continues to travel and speak around the world about coaching, business, consciousness and development. You can catch him teaching classes from time to time at Teledevelop, a virtual learning system he pioneered.
*Introductory Offer May Be Withdrawn At Any Time
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