Hold on, don’t we normally associate entrepreneurs with small agile companies or start-ups? Aren’t large companies and entrepreneurs polar opposites? Even Wikipedia suggests (and I mean ‘suggests’, Wikipedia is not the font of all knowledge and often makes mistakes) that entrepreneurship is “The process of starting a business, a start-up company or other organization. The entrepreneur develops a business plan, acquires the human and other required resources, and is fully responsible for its success or failure.”
Entrepreneurship is more a state of mind than a defined role. Yes of course strictly speaking an entrepreneur should start up a business, but the qualities of an entrepreneurial spirit can be of great benefit to any business large or small.
What is it to be entrepreneurial? I would suggest the following;
- Be self-motivated and not sit back waiting to follow someone else’s lead. I had a manager who had a catch phrase ‘just do it’ meaning get on with what you have to do, don’t be afraid to take the lead.
- Be resourceful. You will not always (actually nearly always) be given the resources to complete a task. Be creative about the way you go about getting help and materials to do a better than good job.
- Think creatively and don’t fall into the trap of doing things the way they have always been done. Experience counts so listen to the people around you, but at the same time always question and try an think of alternatives
- Take risks. Assess the impact first and don’t go crazy, but don’t be afraid of failing, you can learn from failure. Talk to the right people and make decisions quickly, it is always better to make a decision than to do nothing at all.
- If you manage people, give them the trust and space that they need to accomplish things themselves. put yourself in their shoes, how would you like to be managed?
Not everyone can be a large company entrepreneur, but most people can act to a lesser or greater degree like one. The benefits can be far-reaching; people feel a greater freedom at work, they have the ability to contribute more, they feel valued and are therefore more likely to go-the-extra-mile and in doing so will occasionally come up with something really special to provide a much needed competitive edge.
