Follow guide toward ‘greatness’

A young man once asked Socrates for wisdom. The two waded chest deep into the sea, where Socrates took him by the scruff of the neck and held his head underwater until he was exhausted. After recovering, the young man confronted Socrates and demanded an explanation. Socrates answered, "When you want wisdom as much as you wanted air, you’ll find it."

By Dale Christensen
Brigham Young University

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,585038199,00.html

Not long ago, someone asked me how to become a great entrepreneur.

Remembering Socrates, I answered, "If you really want success, you’ll find it." But where do you find it?

Through the years I’ve thought a lot about what it takes to become a great entrepreneur. I’ve developed what I call "A Guide to Greatness."

* Found yourself on integrity and honesty in all things. Align decisions and behavior with proven principles. Seek truth and divine inspiration. Remain teachable, open-minded and willing to listen to expert advice. Guard your reputation, and honor your word. Negotiate to seek fair results for all parties.

* Be values-driven, mission-focused and passionate about what you do. Be goal-oriented and self-motivated. Plan and effectively manage your time and resources. Think strategically; anticipate future moves and adapt through alternative plans and exit strategies. Do the right things rather than just do things right.

* Surround yourself with people of high caliber and build on your combined strengths. Find the right person for the job and the right job for the person. Be relationship-governed, and network to develop alliances with trusted partners.

* Strive for excellence and quality by setting measurable standards and focusing on performance and results. Inspire people to stretch for goals beyond their expectations and focus more on quality than quantity. Don’t lock into systems approaches at the expense of people and flexibility. Be a calculated risk-taker and wise risk manager by understanding the value of timing.

* Continuously improve, learn from mistakes and make adjustments. Be creative and act outside the box. Challenge conventional practices and search for new and more effective solutions. Recognize change as an opportunity and not a problem. Become expert in monitoring, measuring and analyzing performance and progress. Focus on the 20 percent effort that gives 80 percent of the results and take the initiative to get things done.

* Be a leader and mentor who gives vision, direction and inspiration to others. Be decisive, even at personal risk, and consider how your decisions affect others. Communicate the broad picture and ask key questions about expectations. Invite feedback and make it safe for others to disagree.

* Keep things in perspective and be willing to compromise with others to stay on target. Being tolerant and open will help you deal effectively with those whose views and backgrounds are different from your own. Resolve conflict constructively by directly focusing on the issue, not the person; helping participants to stay neutral; and keeping private things private. Anticipate problems and seek solutions.

* Be service-oriented and work for the benefit of the whole rather than just personal interests. Involve others in decisions. Help them understand how they contribute to the organization’s mission.

* Believe you can and you will. Work toward it by being that kind of person.

Entrepreneurs are successful and great for many reasons but mainly because they believe and persist. Choose to be optimistic, to believe and never give up.

Your success will be in the achieving and enjoying of what’s most important.

Socrates probably could have said it better than I have, but I believe this is how one becomes a great entrepreneur and a renaissance person.

Dale Christensen is affiliated with the BYU Center for Entrepreneurship. He can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].