124. Entrepreneurial leadership

Dear Erik,

I cannot stop thinking about your comments about those fast-growing companies. I believe that all these men (did you notice the complete absence of women?) have one thing in common: they are all entrepreneurial leaders. There is no-one who makes these companies excel as an ’employee’. Sure, there might be very capable employees who contribute to that amazing growth, but there is no manager underpinning it.Successfully implementing ground-breaking ideas is extremely difficult because by definition, everyone in your direct environment will strongly disapprove. All of the genuinely ground-breaking ideas you come up with will simply be torn apart by your co-workers, relations, suppliers and friends (Unless you present them to me!). All these entrepreneurs have managed to shatter that brick wall of resistance; which is not something most people are able to do.

What’s more, it’s obviously a unique quality that you are even able to come up with a ground-breaking idea, and to have the vision and attitude to make it happen, along with the perseverance to turn that idea into a success. To get investors to be sufficiently interested that they are willing to put money into your new idea. That takes a great deal of persuasion.

All entrepreneurs start out from the same position. Nowhere. The moment then arrives where we bring our ideas to fruition. We all have that choice: ‘do we go for something innovative and ground-breaking, or will it be more of the same with some neat gadgets here and there?’

Most entrepreneurs will choose the latter, it’s just easier. Because what Henry Ford once said also applies to entrepreneurs: ‘Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it’.

It takes more than just overcoming the resistance towards your novel ideas. Possibly the greatest challenge is that customers might not even want an innovative product or service. They’re content with the way things are within the current chain of supply and demand. Innovative ideas require a great deal of all the abilities an entrepreneur may have. Of course, the fact that one of these abilities represents the insight by the entrepreneur to make the goals and vision understandable to all those within the company will only add to the success. Though for me, that last bit represents more the valuable input of an expert CEO or HR Director. But, I haven’t read the book and there are undoubtedly many other matters that the author brings up.

The management and self-realisation books that were of most use to me were all of Jeffrey Gitomer’s books (start with ‘The Sales Bible’), Anthony Robbins, Stephen R. Covey, and the epitome of all books: the book that tells you everything you need to know: ‘A Course in Miracles’.

During my studies, my marketing professor once told me: ‘marketing is 1% inspiration and 99% hard work’. And I’m positive this applies to all the entrepreneurs at Google and similar companies. Who’s willing to put in that much work? To go all the way? Hardly anyone.

Regards,

Gerard