action trumps everything
TRANSCRIPT
Heidi M. Neck, PhDJeffry A. Timmons Professor of Entrepreneurial [email protected] / @ProfNeck
®ACTION
TRUMPS
EVERYTHING
ARE ENTREPRENEURS BORN?
© 2012 YSF Magazine: Young, Fabulous and Self-employed
6%
Now more than ever, the world needs
entrepreneurs of all kinds who think and act entrepreneurially—
who can transform
opportunity into reality, and
create social and economic
value for themselves and for others.
Behavior & Actions
Behavior of entrepreneurs often
looks idiosyncratic and contradictory
There is strong consistency
in how serial entrepreneurs think.
And it largely explains
their unconventional behavior.
Results
ThinkingBehavior & Actions
Results
Puzzle Challenge
Creating a storyWorking through a maze
Entrepreneurial ThinkingManagerial Thinking
Story vs. Maze
► The end goal is quickly established & definable.
► Resource needs known
► Typically spend some time planning
► Analyzing different paths
► Execute the plan
► Goal achieved
► Move on to next maze
How was the story created?
► Story emerged
► Didn’t really know how to start
► Only choice was to act
► Every person added something new and unplanned
► Built the story together
► Structure emerged over time
► Surprises? Direction changes?
► Action oriented
Creating a storyWorking through a maze
Entrepreneurial ThinkingManagerial Thinking
Story vs. Maze
PREDICTION/
MANAGERIAL
CREATION/
ENTREPRENEURIAL
Small actions
Affordable loss
Iterative
Experimentation
Starting with what you have
Embrace & leverage failure
Collaborative
Big planning
Expected Return
Linear
Optimization
Wait until you get what you need
Avoid failure at all costs
Competitive
To the extent we can predict the future, we can control it.
To the extent we can create the future, we don’t need to predict it
UnknowableKnowable
Implications for Ireland?
Puzzles may be more satisfying, but the world increasingly offers us mysteries.
Treating them as puzzles is like trying to solve the unsolvable – an impossible challenge.
But approaching them as mysteries may make us more comfortable with the uncertainties of our age.
Greg TrevertonDirector of the RAND Center for Global Risk and Security
The Method of Entrepreneurial Thought & Action
Intriguing area, attractive partners
Clear, sharply defined, robust plan
Sufficient to get started
Start with
means at hand
“Pay” only what
you can afford
to lose (Acceptable Loss)
Enroll others to
join your journey
ACTBuild on
What you
learn
ACT. LEARN. BUILD.
Source: Schlesinger et al., (2012) Just Start. HBS Press.
®
When do you stop?
Continue until:• You don’t want it, and/or
• You exceed your Acceptable Loss, and/or
• You prove to yourself it cannot be done.
Source: Saras Sarasvathy