Being a Successful Entrepreneur — Balancing Personalities
Entrepreneurship is all about balance. From allocating your time and energy effectively to managing different types of employees, one of the toughest parts of being in charge of everything is striking the right chord to keep things moving smoothly, efficiently, and in the right direction. The solution often lies in the entrepreneur’s own ability to recognize and balance the conflicting perspectives that drive their own decisions.
There are three fundamental, but conflicting, personalities that in some mix drive most individuals. They are the entrepreneurial view of always looking forward, the manager view of always looking back, and the technical perspective of only dealing with what is happening in the present. Most people excel in one area, may have some balance among two, but rarely have a good handle on balancing all three. That balance is an absolute necessity to develop and grow any type of business.
As it turns out, most people who take the plunge tend toward the entrepreneur personality, with big visions of where the business idea can go and the big picture of what they want to do. This is often relatively well balanced with one or the other of management skills or technical skills. That is, some entrepreneurs also have a good grasp on how to manage a business in general, by reviewing financial reports, implementing the most effective marketing techniques, and the like. Others know the technical, or operational, aspects of their business idea inside and out. Less common, but still an issue, are those entrepreneurs with a knack for the technical and basic business management, but an inability to see the opportunities or threats on the horizon. An important piece is missing in each of these mixes.
It often happens, however, that individuals fail to see the value in opposing personalities. They put their business at risk by depending on only their own perspective. The big thinker often misses danger signs that can be identified through analytical review of past performance. Managers, in their zeal to fix those past problems or issues, often fail to see how certain changes affect the day-to-day operations of the business. Technicians are often so focused on what is happening today that they allow small problems to grow out of control and they are unprepared to handle the opportunities and threats as they come along.
Developing the manager and technician sides of your personality simply requires some time and effort. Management basics can be learned from experience, education, or even using management training products. Learning the technical side of a certain business is similar. If there is an opportunity to work within an industry before you go out on your own…do it! Otherwise, taking a learn-as-you-go approach can work, too, as long as you are staying abreast of innovations and efficiencies within the industry. Mastering the big picture perspective can be more difficult for those without an inherent entrepreneurial personality, but is definitely possible. Spend some time with entrepreneurial types, talk with them about your business ideas, and take note of their responses. When you have that lightbulb moment (Why didn’t I think of that?), you are on your way to developing your own big picture skills.
Entrepreneurs across all industries must find a way to balance the conflicting personalities required to succeed. For those that are acutely self-aware, the job is easier. If, for example, an entrepreneur knows that they are just not good with the details, they can find a business partner or key employee to bolster the influence of the manager or technician perspective. The key is to know thyself, work on your weaker aspects, and accept the ideas of another, sometimes conflicting, perspective in order to reach the best decisions for the venture.
About the Author
K. MacKillop, a serial entrepreneur with a J.D. from Duke University, is co-founder of LaunchX and authors a blog focused on starting a business. The LaunchX System will help you start a business, no matter your business personality. It contains step-by-step instructions, key small business software, management tools and more to help you be up, running, and making money as quickly as possible. Start a business today using the LaunchX System.
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