The Importance of Being Entrepreneurial in Today’s ... · “The reasonable man (or woman) adapts...
Transcript of The Importance of Being Entrepreneurial in Today’s ... · “The reasonable man (or woman) adapts...
The Importance of BeingEntrepreneurial in Today’s
Changing UniversityEnvironment
Dr. Michael MorrisWitting Chair in Entrepreneurship
Syracuse Universityand Hilton Visiting Chair
Iowa State UniversitySeptember 12, 2006
“The reasonable man (or woman) adapts himself (herself)to the world. The unreasonable man (or woman) persistsin adapting the world to himself (herself). Therefore, allprogress depends on unreasonable men (and women).”
-George Bernard Shaw
“The role of the entrepreneur is to stand up toall…to stand up to ridicule.”
-Tom Peters
The E Revolution the rate of start-ups is at an all-time high; innovation
has exploded;
the glamour of the Fortune 500 has worn off---now it isthe INC 500, the FAST 500…
and the dot.com collapse changed nothing, it onlyreminded us that E is not easy.
The Entrepreneurial Revolution
1 million new ventures a year 85% of the new jobs New product/service introduction rate New patent issuance rate Rate of wealth creation Women and minorities now lead the pack And it’s a global revolution
It is not just that the free market hasprevailed…
--it is that the entrepreneur has surmounted thebureaucrat, the corporate functionary, theadministrator, the executive looking for agolden parachute, or the exploiter looking tomake money without creating value...
Entrepreneurs are the heroes---for they are the ones whomake the world livable for everyone else:
-they are the ones who question, who challenge-they are the ones who take responsibility for change-they are what the human spirit is all about-they are the hope for a better life, for the end of poverty, for the
destruction of discrimination----they are the quiet revolutionaries
for entrepreneurship is the most empowering, the mostdemocratic, the most freedom-creating phenomenon is thehistory of the human race
The Dynamic Entrepreneurship provides the dynamic that drives
economies, communities, and organizations
Absent entrepreneurship, the result is not a staticstate---there is decline over time
What are the implications, then, of levels ofentrepreneurship within ISU?
“The at-risk university or community isthe university or community that is notprepared for the entrepreneurial age”
It is an age on omnipresent entrepreneurship: morechoices, more innovation, more technological
advances, more change, more opportunity, morepossibilities
ARE YOU PREPARED???
Are you opportunity driven? How many did you recognizetoday? How many will you do anything about?
Are you are calculated risk taker, or a seeker of security andstability?
Are you comfortable in loose, messy, ambiguous contexts, whereit is unclear what’s around the next bend?
Do you want to be responsible for a being a part of a process, orresponsible for making a difference, for results, performance,outcomes
Let’s consider five basic questions…
What exactly is entrepreneurship? What does it mean to be “entrepreneurial”? Who is the entrepreneur? What an entrepreneurial mindset? What’s an entrepreneurial university?
What exactly is entrepreneurship?
Not simply the starting and running of a small business
Not a personality cult
Not magic
Not luck / right place, right time
Not a birthright
Not genetic
Entrepreneurship is…
A manageable process
A philosophy of life
A way of thinking
A way of acting
Entrepreneurship is…
“The process of creating value by bringingtogether a unique package of resources to exploitan opportunity”
“The pursuit of opportunity without regard toresources currently controlled”
And social entrepreneurship…
New and novel mixes of opportunities, challenges,ideas, and resources in pursuit of potentiallyexplosive (non-financial) rewards
Rewards: kids vaccinated, souls saved, etc.Rewards are generally “public” in nature (not
appropriated principally by the entrepreneur)
The entrepreneurial task…
-capacity to perceive and act upon opportunities inthe environment
-ability to create and build something frompractically nothing
-successful pursuit of opportunity without regard toresources currently controlled
A manageable process…
Identify an opportunity Develop a business concept Assess the required resources Acquire the necessary sources
Implement and manage Harvest the venture
The Entrepreneurial ExperienceAmbiguity
Stress ExcitementUncertainty
ResponsibilitySelf-reliance
Adaptation DisciplineChange
Learning
To be entrepreneurial…
Entrepreneurship
Innovativeness Risk-taking Proactiveness
Degree
Entrepreneurial Intensity
Frequency
Who Is the Entrepreneur: CommonTraits and Characteristics
Achievement MotivationInternal Locus of ControlCalculated Risk-takingTolerance of AmbiguityIndependencePersistence/Perseverance/TenacitySelf-confidenceDedication/Strong Work EthicOrganizational Skills
OpportunisticAdaptability/VersatilityInitiative/EnergeticResourcefulnessCreativityPerceptivenessAssertivenessPersuasiveness
Keys to Success: Behaviors and SkillsInstead of Traits…
Ability to learn
Social abilities
Adaptation
Guerrilla capabilities
Growth propensity
Cognition: different ways of thinking
Cognitive biases (optimism bias, illusion of control, law of small numbers) Entrepreneurial alertness: motivated propensity to formulate an image of the
future; to process information differently, challenge assumptions, and seeopportunity where others don’t
Signal detection: tendency to be more concerned with recognizing stimuli thatare present than correctly concluding stimuli are not present
Prospect theory: tendency to focus more on opportunities for gain they willforfeit if they overlook an opportunity; E’s prefer to avoid loss when focusingon gains but seek risk when focusing on losses.
Regulatory focus: E’s regulate their behavior from more of a promotion(emphasis on accomplishment and multiple options) than a prevention(avoiding negative outcomes, considering fewer options) emphasis.
There Are Different Types of E’s
Personal achiever
Supersalesperson
Real manager
Expert idea generator
So what is an entrepreneurial mindset?
Passionate pursuit of new opportunities Pursuit of opportunity with enormous discipline and
tenacity Prioritizing opportunities and not exhausting oneself or
resources by pursuing every one of them Focus on execution and adaptation Tolerance of failure and learning from failure Spreading the entrepreneurial religion to a team Healthy dissatisfaction
Healthy dissatisfaction…-look around you---when you went through your day
today---when you walked or drove over here
-what did you see that could be better
-what did you see that might have made you say “WHATIF........”
Let these two magic words guide your life
Entrepreneurship as a Lifetime Philosophy
In Your Career
- In Start-up- In Fast Growth- In Large Firms- In Social/Public Organizations
(Career Life Cycle)
Attitude
- Can Affect Change- There is a Better Way- Opportunities are Everywhere- Define Innovation and Growth- Failure is Learning
In Your Life
- In Family- In Church Activities- In Community Involvement- In Personal Relationships- In Managing Personal Finances- In Dealing with Personal Change
Behavior
- Pursuing Opportunity- Innovating- Perseverance- Frequency, not once
Creating Environments Why is Austin, TX more entrepreneurial than Syracuse,
NY or Des Moines, IA?
Why is Florida more entrepreneurial than New York orIowa?
Why is China more entrepreneurial than France?
Why is Stanford more entrepreneurial than ISU?
Core Factors Required for Entrepreneurship
The environment
The resourcesThe concept
The entrepreneur
or champion
The
entrepreneurial
process
The
organizational
context
The Entrepreneurial University High degree (innovativeness, risk-taking and
proactiveness) of entrepreneurship
High frequency (number innovations) ofentrepreneurship
Different degrees and frequencies depending onthe campus unit or activity or role player
The Entrepreneurial University Applied to research, teaching, outreach and community
engagement, fund-raising, provision of campus services(housing, financial aid, parking, library services), athletics
A campus where faculty, staff, administrators, andstudents are opportunity-driven not resource-constrained
Every student an entrepreneur
Where to Begin: 11 Key EntrepreneurialCapabilities
Opportunity Recognition Opportunity Evaluation Innovation Creative Problem-solving The Entrepreneurial
Process Mitigating Risk
Thinking and Acting as aGuerrilla
Resource Leveraging Managing Ambiguity and
Uncertainty Building a Plan for an
Innovative Concept Implementation of Change
Where to Begin: Elements for Creating anEntrepreneurial Environment
Culture
Controls
Structure Policies & Procedures
Strategy
Rewards
Changing the Metrics
Too much focus on how many students startventures out of school
Changes in mindsets and attitudes over time(students, faculty, staff)
Faculty innovations (discovery, teaching) Staff innovations Administrative innovations Entrepreneurial impacts on external communities
Entrepreneurship is not something you do…it is a philosophy that youbring to life.
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
M. Gandhi