Entrepreneurship And Business Skills
Question 1
I consider an entrepreneurial individual to be a person that exercises initiative through organizing a venture with the aim of taking benefit of the opportunity presented. In addition, this individual is not afraid to make decisions regarding their venture and always accepts full responsibility of the outcome that results from their decisions (Caird, 1990). Referring to myself as entrepreneurial means I do not just wait to be given directions on my tasks but rather I set out to look for information that other people do not have and I proceed to use it appropriately. I can fit in any department because I focus my attention on the set goals, strive to learn quickly enough and develop new ideas.
My ideas, energy, and vision would remain theoretical until I get that opportunity to practice what I do best. Brockhaus regards the entrepreneur’s dedication, talent and commitment to be valuable traits that would go to waste if the individual lacks the necessary resources, an equally talented team, and the opportunity to put their ideas into practice (Brockhaus, 1982). Once the opportunity presents itself, the entrepreneur is always prepared to utilize it appropriately.
Whenever I was engaged in a group project, I always carried out my research thoroughly, focused all my efforts on the given assignment, and coordinated my group members with the aim of ensuring the project was performed in the most organized manner possible. My group members always relied on me because I am always accountable for the decision I make regarding the task at hand. However, often the decision I made turned out correct because prior to making the decision, I prefer to gather the necessary information, and then proceed to use it appropriately. In a diner that I used to work part-time in while in school, I recommended having a special dish for the customers on a particular day every week. This suggestion resulted from an observation that I had made whereby the customers often had a specific meal they consumed frequently but on occasion they preferred a change. On this occasion, I would recommend the alternative meal. I figured that a special dish once every week would create that alternative meal option. The idea worked amazingly and every Wednesdays when the special dish was offered, the diner would always be full.
My entrepreneurial skills would be beneficial to the company because I place priority on achieving the set goal therefore every task assigned to me would always be performed in an exemplary manner. Because I am responsible and accountable, supervision would not be required because I never waste my time while working and instead I focus all my efforts on achieving my goal. I am willing to take risks because I consider the risky, different, or even controversial things to have an underlying opportunity that is mostly unexploited (Caird, 1990). The entrepreneur does not just look at the idea and wait for directions on how to proceed but rather develops a plan of action which will create a road map which will raise the venture from the idea stage and set in on the course of growth and materialization (Gunther and MacMillan, 2000). The position I would be assigned would present me with the necessary resources, technology and capability to focus on achieving the goals of the company.
The conclusions that I come to in the Company would be reliable since I conduct thorough researches and make decisions based on comprehensive information. The Company would therefore not have to worry about reckless decisions or question the validity of my recommendations and strategies.
Question 2
Every successful individual often has a story to tell regarding the challenges and obstacles that they had to overcome on their long road to success (Hauser, 2012). The biggest obstacle that I have had to face is the negative traits that I posses. However, over time I have come to the conclusion that what one lacks on one side, they compensate for it on the other. I am for instance a poor networker. The network of contacts that I started off with was very narrow and since I am not so good at connecting with people, the situation did not get any better. What I lacked in network skills, I made up for in commitment and determination. The important thing is to match the strength that compensates for your weakness and apply it (Hauser, 2012). Although, I could not connect with people easily, I could rely on myself to get the job done. The feeling that I was an ‘outsider’ reduced my reliance on other people’s help and I immersed myself in the mission that I worked towards. Failure was not a letdown but rather an opportunity to learn and avoid a similar mistake in the future. As a result of my commitment and determination, prospective partners sought me and my network grew not because I was good at connecting with other people but because of my drive to succeed that appealed to them.
It is important to find one’s weaknesses and strengths followed by strategies to turn the weaknesses around. Every business is an entire system that contains numerous tasks which cannot be accomplished by a single individual no matter how strong that individual is. As a result, the best strategy is to focus an individual’s energy on those areas that they are strong therefore compensating for the weaknesses (Collins and Lazier, 1995).
I applied the recommended strategy by Collins and Lazier in my weakness regarding poor communication skills by maximizing on my ability to think of the big picture. Although I could not persuade people to support my views, ideas and business as a whole, I could see the patterns and relationships in the environment I traded in. These patterns and relationships made me an excellent predictor of market as well as competitor moves. As a result, I did not have to persuade anyone to follow my lead, adopt my ideas, or engage in transactions with me because the statistics talked on my behalf. The consistent positive results made others to gain confidence in me.
The other trait that disadvantaged me was my strong action orientation that caused me to sometimes desire to act prior to comprehensive contemplation. There are several occasions that my ventures failed resulting from my immediate actions that were based on incomplete information. These ventures failed but I did not give up on them and instead kept on trying until they succeeded. My strong action orientation was my weakness but the motivation to excel is the strength that avoided my downfall. Every time I went into a venture because I felt the need to act, my goal and result orientation pushed me until the goal was achieved. I overcame my weaknesses through the strengths that compensated for what I lacked. I would recommend such an approach to every individual who desires to overcome or turn their weaknesses into strengths.
Question 3
I would choose the role of either an organizer or a moderator. Often the group is split over which is the right and the wrong approach to an activity or task (Adeak, 2010). Every individual in the group seems to think that their idea, suggestion, or plan is the correct one. However, the best plan, strategy, and organization come from extensive preparation, assessment, and consideration. I prioritize these three elements because I do not like to undertake a task while unprepared and I set my mind to achieving the goal therefore the approach used, the organization chosen and the strategy formulated all have to be centered on the goal. Since this is a group activity, achieving the goal is not only dependent on my effort but on each group member’s effort. It is therefore my responsibility to organize the team and ensure that the plan that I have formulated to achieve the goal is integrated into the whole team. Team organization is a critical component of long-term success of any business therefore ensuring the team’s procedures and plans are formulated and each team member is assigned a role that they will perform effectively would guarantee positive results (Collins and Lazier, 1995). A particular occasion that I played this role was in a research project on advertising where I divided the group into sub-groups so that every sub-group could research on a sub-topic which would then be followed by consolidation of all the sub-topics.
The role of a moderator would also be an appropriate role for me because I am impartial and maintain an open mind at all times. Through such an approach I believe the interests of every group member would be addressed therefore ensuring that no member is dissatisfied. One hurdle that often arises in group activities is the allocation of resources and resolution of internal disagreements (Adeak, 2010). I believe in fair treatment and therefore would ensure the resources are coordinated and allocated fairly. This step would also help reduce disagreements in the group. This quality is an indication that the moderator is an appropriate role for me.
The role that I would least play in a group is that of a critic. This is majorly because I choose to look at things positively whereas the critic searches for the flaw in order to expose it. A team needs to be motivated in order to perform well but criticism often dampens the motivation of the team (Adeak, 2010). This role is therefore not appropriate for me at all.
References
- Brockhaus, R. H. (1982), The Psychology of the Entrepreneur. In Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurship , edited by Calvin A. Kent, Donald L. Sexton, and Karl H. Vesper, Prentice Hall, New Jersey.
- Collins, J. C. and Lazier, W. C. (1995), Beyond Entrepreneurship: Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company, Prentice Hall, New Jersey.
- Caird, S. (1990), What does it mean to be EnterprisingBritish Journal of Management, vol. 1, Issue 3, pp. 37–145.
- Gunther, M., R. and MacMillan, I. (2000), The Entrepreneurial Mindset, Harvard Business School Press, Boston.
Hauser, A. (2012), How to Overcome Business Weaknesses, Resources for entrepreneurs, viewed May 2, 2012, http://www.gaebler.com/Small-Business-Administration-SBA-Advice.htm - What is a Team Role StructureAdeak. 2010, viewed May 2, 2012, http://www.adeak.com/2010/02/what-is-a-team-role-structure/
