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By K. MacKillop
Best-selling author Michael E. Gerber describes three conflicting personalities of business owners: the entrepreneur, the manager, and the technician. In order to succeed as an entrepreneur, it is critical to not only understand the distinctions between these functions, but also to balance these personalities at the highest levels of the organization.
Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurial personalities tend to be dreamers. They are always looking to the future and planning for the next big move. Whether they are capable of dealing with the minutiae or not, entrepreneurs are far more interested in the big picture and thinking about where the business can go. They find direction in knowing where they want to end up, rather than where they are starting.
Managers
Managers are the opposite personality. They prefer to study the history of the organization, analyze the financials and operations, and carefully weigh opportunities. Managers concern themselves with how the business can improve on its past performance and tend to methodically evaluate and analyze situations to death before making a decision, much less major changes. Managers find direction in what has already happened with the business more than where they see it going.
Technicians
Technicians are masters of the day-to-day operations. They focus on what needs to be done right now, without particular concern for what happened yesterday or what’s likely to happen tomorrow. They live entirely in the present. Technicians are often experts at what the business does, but not as strong at running the business side of things.
How Your Personality Affects Your Startup
A significant number of small businesses are started with just one or two individuals and no employees. In these cases, it is necessary for the entrepreneurs to be all things at all times, a tough requirement if they rely completely on any one of these personalities. A purely entrepreneurial focus results in lots of plans, but limited action. Lack of attention to detail means there is no roadmap for actually getting the venture where they want it to go, thus their startups often struggle to survive.
A purely management perspective turns out a business that is well-run, but is in for extremely slow growth, if it will grow at all. Looking in the rearview mirror obstructs the ability to see the opportunities and threats that lay ahead, thus these businesses are often unprepared to handle them as they come. Management is very much about maintaining the status quo — a dangerous prospect in today’s small business world. An entirely technical focus causes all sorts of problems for a small business owner. Not only are they unaware of the lessons to be learned from past performance, but they are also oblivious to what is on the horizon. They may be the best at what they do, but that does not translate into a successful business.
Startups that are launched with two or more key players have an easier time of balancing the three business personalities. In the best partnerships, each individual is strong in a different perspective and is open to the ideas and priorities of the other partners. For solo entrepreneurs, the balance must come from self-discipline and solid time and task management. It is essential to understand your own proclivities and know which personality is most naturally yours. Then, work to hone your skills in the others in order to create the balance necessary to build and grow a thriving company.
About the Author-K. MacKillop, a serial entrepreneur with a J.D. from Duke University, is founder of LaunchX and blogs about starting a business. The LaunchX System for Business Startup is designed to use your strengths and fill in your weak areas so that starting a business is possible no matter which personality you have. Visit LaunchX.com to find out more about this revolutionary business startup kit.
