Topic 1 Entrepreneurial vs. Managerial Mind-set
Entrepreneurship is not a straight path. It is rather a method of creating opportunities, taking smart action, learning and iterating, and using a portfolio of skills to navigate an ever-changing world.
Although managerial thinking has its advantages and is necessary, it is not enough in today‘s uncertain, complex and chaotic business environment. In new ventures, managers and entrepreneurs are often one and the same person. So they have to possess both skillsets.
A simple dinner party can serve as an example: if you invite a group of friends to a dinner party, you might chose a recipe or draw up a menu, buy the ingredients and cook a meal according to the instructions in your cookbook. That‘s a managerial approach.
The entrepreneurial approach would be, by contrast, to invite your friends and ask every person to bring one ingredient but not tell them what to bring. Now the group must come together, use the ingredients, plus what you already have in your kitchen, and create dinner.
In short an entrepreneurial mind-set is able to quickly sense, take action, and get organized under uncertain circumstances and requires constant thinking and rethinking, adaptability, and self-regulation – the ability to control our emotions and impulses.
