Profiles in Success - Entrepreneurial Competence

Good Day, this is rutter radio – your guide to fast and sustainable business growth. It is 0600 eastern or -4 GMT on 24JUN09 and the show is about Profiles for Success – Entrepreneurial Competence.

I am William Eastman, your host and Managing Partner for US Operations at Applied KnowledgeLabs, the show is hosted from our Atlantic Regional Office located in Richmond, Virginia.

You can join the conversation by clicking chat now link on our program page or call in at 347.215.7471.

The majority of our focus is on trainable skills because why discuss things you cannot change? However we would be guilty of malpractice if we didn't address the characteristics or traits of successful entrepreneurs.

But first some background. I had the opportunity to work with the United Nations Development Programmes in the 1990's. One of their initiatives was a program called Empretec, helping small business thrive and secure financing for growth. While engaged in one of our business development incubators, I had a blinding flash of the obvious – entrepreneurship is a calling and we have more in common with each other than our own families.

As part of the process, we had screen hundreds of applicants for just 30 positions. That was my introduction into the research on the traits and personal characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. What follows are those traits of success.

• Achievement Motivated
• Planning Orientation
• Influence Choices

Our show is only 30 minutes in duration, so I will cover just the Achievement Cluster and check out our Chief Growth Officer blog for the remainder of the information.

Achievement Motivated – what are the components?

• Opportunity Seeking & Initiative
• Risk Taking
• Demand for Efficiency and Quality
• Persistence
• Commitment to the Work Contract

Opportunity Seeking & Initiative – what are the behaviors you would see as evidence?

• does things before being asked or forced by events
• acts to extend the business into new areas, products, and/or services
• seizes unusual opportunities to start a new business, obtain financing, equipment, land, work space or assistance

Risk Taking – what are the behaviors you would see as evidence?

• deliberately calculates risks and evaluates alternatives
• takes action to reduce risks or control outcomes
• places self in situations involving a challenge or moderate risk

Demand for Efficiency and Quality – what are the behaviors you would see as evidence?

• finds ways to do things better, faster, different, or cheaper
• acts to do things that meet or exceed standards of excellence
• develops or uses procedures to ensure work is completed on time or that work meets agreed upon standards of quality

Persistence – what are the behaviors you would see as evidence?

• takes action in the face of a significant obstacle
• takes repeated actions or switches to an alternative approach to meet a challenge or overcome an obstacle
• takes personal responsibility for the performance necessary to achieve goals and objectives

Commitment to the Work Contract – what are the behaviors you would see as evidence?

• strives to keep customers satisfied and places long term good will over short term gain
• pitches in with workers or in their place to get the job done
• makes a personal sacrifice or expands extraordinary effort to complete a job

Well, we have just a few minutes left, so lets review.

Go to our blog and review the list. Be honest with yourself, how many of these behaviors do you exhibit daily? over the space of a week? and how well do you perform it?

We will loop back around on this list over the next week when we discuss the demands of ownership/leadership by each growth stage.

Thanx for listening, check out our support materials. The transcript of today's show will be available in the afternoon.

This is William Eastman, your host at rutter radio, have a great business day.