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