One of the topics of discussion at the World Entrepreneurship Forum, last year, in Evian, France, is the “qualities and skills an entrepreneur must possess in order to succeed.”
These are not the same as common traits entrepreneurs share. Those characteristics were already laid out, I presume, by the Forum’s organizers (which are KPMG in France, the EMLYON business school, also in France, with considerable input from the United States’ Babson College): risk [taker], creativity/innovator, proactive, and autonomy.
But the Forum attendees (experts, politicians and entrepreneurs from all over the globe) then broke into groups to discuss the essential entrepreneurial qualities and skills. Essentially we had to fill in the blanks to:
* Entrepreneurs must be able to do …
* Entrepreneurs must know …
* Entrepreneurs must understand …
Interestingly, none of the groups returned with a list that mentioned “risk.” This was surprising to some, since we all know the words "risk-taker" and "entrepreneur" are often practically used synonymously. Instead the top five “musts” for entrepreneurs (this was specifically tied to entrepreneurs working in a free market economy) were:
1. Entrepreneurs commit [to the challenge] and then work out the details.
2. Entrepreneurs identify opportunity from a problem.
3. Entrepreneurs are comfortable with ambiguity.
4. Entrepreneurs know when they have enough information to make their decisions.
5. Entrepreneurs build effective teams.
What do you think? Do you agree with these qualities? How many of them do you possess? I really want to start a dialogue about this — so please let me know.
These are not the same as common traits entrepreneurs share. Those characteristics were already laid out, I presume, by the Forum’s organizers (which are KPMG in France, the EMLYON business school, also in France, with considerable input from the United States’ Babson College): risk [taker], creativity/innovator, proactive, and autonomy.
But the Forum attendees (experts, politicians and entrepreneurs from all over the globe) then broke into groups to discuss the essential entrepreneurial qualities and skills. Essentially we had to fill in the blanks to:
* Entrepreneurs must be able to do …
* Entrepreneurs must know …
* Entrepreneurs must understand …
Interestingly, none of the groups returned with a list that mentioned “risk.” This was surprising to some, since we all know the words "risk-taker" and "entrepreneur" are often practically used synonymously. Instead the top five “musts” for entrepreneurs (this was specifically tied to entrepreneurs working in a free market economy) were:
1. Entrepreneurs commit [to the challenge] and then work out the details.
2. Entrepreneurs identify opportunity from a problem.
3. Entrepreneurs are comfortable with ambiguity.
4. Entrepreneurs know when they have enough information to make their decisions.
5. Entrepreneurs build effective teams.
What do you think? Do you agree with these qualities? How many of them do you possess? I really want to start a dialogue about this — so please let me know.
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