Over my time with SME’s and multinationals I came to realize that there are 4 types of leaders/entrepreneurs; each one is different and no single type of entrepreneur ensures entrepreneurial success sorry. The 4 types can be broken out into the “personal achiever“, the “super salesperson“, the “real manager“, and the “expert idea generator“. If you work in a business environment with entrepreneurs, knowing the strengths and weakness of these personality types can help you to succeed, particularly if you manage entrepreneurial people or ventures.
The Personal Achiever
Personal achievers are the classic entrepreneurs. They are the types of people that we picture when the term “entrepreneur“ is used. They are the only types who must become entrepreneurs to succeed in life. If they are placed in a non-entrepreneurial environment, they stand a good chance of failure. They possess seven characteristics that relate to entrepreneurial success:
1. Need to achieve.
2. Desire for feedback.
3. Desire to plan and set goals.
4. Strong personal initiative.
5. Strong commitment to their organization.
6. Belief that one person can make a difference.
7. Belief that work should be guided by one‘s own goals, not other people‘s.
The Super Sales Person
Generally, onlookers don‘t view super sales people as having the potential for entrepreneurial success. Their entrepreneurial strength is their approach to selling. They truly cater to the needs of clients and customers, thus placing a strong stress on service. Super sales people are interested in managing the customer into a sale, not in applying pressure tactics.
They have personal characteristics that relate to entrepreneurial success, including:
1. Capacity to understand and empathize with another person.
2. Desire to help others.
3. Belief that social processes are very important.
4. Need to have strong relationships with others.
5. Belief that a sales force is crucial to carrying out company strategy.
The Real Manager
Real managers exhibit some of the traits of established entrepreneurs and some of the abilities of corporate managers. They possess at least three of the following six traits:
1. Desire to be a corporate leader.
2. Decisiveness.
3. Positive attitudes toward authority.
4. Desire to compete.
5. Desire for power.
6. Desire to stand out from the crowd.
The Expert Idea Generator
Expert idea generators are people who have ideas for a business that can provide a real competitive advantage. They become tremendously enthused about their ideas and spend a great deal of time implementing them. Unlike personal achievers, who spend energy on an overall venture, expert idea generators tend to focus on the idea exclusively. Very often, they will try to persuade others to contribute to implementation and, if unsuccessful, they will abandon the idea. They possess a majority of the following five characteristics:
1. Desire to innovate.
2. Love of ideas.
3. Belief that new product development is crucial to carrying out company strategy.
4. Good intelligence.
5. Risk avoidance.
But maybe there is a fifth… The Steve Jobs
They operate according to a few notable principles: They don’t take no for an answer from their engineers, so they can get the technology product you want. They see opportunities and develop products to seize them. Find and recruit the most talented people to transform their product vision into a commercial reality. Make their products as intuitive and user-friendly as possible.
Whether managing entrepreneurs or you yourself are an entrepreneur, a few other primary concepts are important to remember: Content rules. Be honest about your commercial offerings, especially with yourself. Your products should correlate with your personality. Routinely celebrate your team’s accomplishments. Never stop innovating. Tune out those who tell you that something cannot be done. Love your products, and use them enthusiastically. Learn from your mistakes. And, like Steve Jobs always did himself, aim for the stars.
Typed on a mac….
