Frank Kanu's Books

© Copyright Frank D. Kanu 2000-2008

Is a manager an entrepreneur?

Many entrepreneurs are managers, but fewer managers are entrepreneurs. One reason for this is that managers as a rule have no tangible stake in their business. A manager does not even have to own shares of the business in question. Interestingly, we all know people who are thought of as a good entrepreneur but a bad manager, but we don’t hear as often of people who are considered a good manager but a bad entrepreneur.

    Universities produce many MBAs. How many of them become successful entrepreneurs? True, they’ve learned the basics: accounting, controlling, marketing, and management. Those basics are important for entrepreneurs, too, but entrepreneurs have to bring way more to the table. In many ways the lot of the entrepreneur parallels that of the “struggling artist”.

    Entrepreneurs must be creative and innovative, but they also have to be inspirational. As long as managers do not see themselves also as entrepreneurs they will not develop their full potential. Going a step further, the responsibility of the manager is to train their team members to become managers themselves. The best performing teams are those where people see themselves as entrepreneurs within the team, not just worker bees.

Step back, relax, and look at the situation. Can you find your solution?

    Although entrepreneurs and managers share many traits, they also have some notable differences. Entrepreneurs are known for taking risks and thinking primarily of the long term; managers are more detail-oriented and cautious, and they do care about the short term as well as the future. Entrepreneurs believe that failure in one venture is a learning experience that will give them more momentum next time; managers are much more fearful of failure and how it will affect their reputation.

    As the business world becomes more global (in part thanks to the Internet), the pressures and expectations on businesses grow. In this more competitive environment, businesses feel a need to make bolder, more long-ranging decisions. So, sometimes managers are forced to take the role of the entrepreneur.

What impact has modern society on entrepreneurship?

Can you define the entrepreneurial process?

What are the challenges an entrepreneur faces in your company; your line of business?

Do you see yourself as entrepreneur, manager or both?

    Viewing shareholder value as the business’s number one priority does little to encourage entrepreneurial spirit. Likewise, the many committees, boards, and regulations that come with them can squash entrepreneurship pretty easily. One of the hallmarks of successful entrepreneurship is the ability to make decisions quickly. Anything that hinders the ability to do that endangers the entrepreneurial spirit.

    Managers need to understand that adopting an entrepreneurial mindset alone isn’t what’s needed to make the business successful. What entrepreneurship can do is unlock the visionary ideas that can give the business a boost both short- and long-term. Don’t think of the entrepreneur as someone who creates chaos that managers need to fix. Think instead of that “chaos” as a vision—and use that vision to break out of the old ideas that keep the business from moving forward.

How long does it take to get a decision?

How many ideas get shut down?

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 Technorati (All Links are external): accounting  business  business world  challenges  chaos  committees  company  competitive environment  controlling  decisions  delphi  entrepreneur  entrepreneurial  entrepreneurial mindset  entrepreneurial process  entrepreneurial spirit  environment businesses  failure  hallmarks  learning experience  line of business  long ranging decisions  main entrance  management  marketing  mbas  momentum  oracle  oracle of delphi  priority  process  reputation  shareholder value  stake  successful entrepreneurs  team members  term managers  time managers  universities  visionary ideas  worker bees  step 1 - define!