Can entrepreneurship be taught?

[Chris Kaday]

A long time ago I read that a vast amount of self made millionaires had gone bankrupt in the past. I agree with a lot of the previous posts that risk taking is both good and bad, depending on whether successful or not.

Although true entrepreneurship requires a natural flare, I have met some extremely successful business managers, who on the whole have followed proven sales techniques.

I wouldn't care less how much natural ability a rep had if they delivered the goods!

I can second that Stu

Many many years ago in 1966 BC (Before Computers!) I worked for a company called Kalamazoo Business Systems selling paper office products from a very scruffy office in Lewisham Way New Cross. I worked for a fantastic 'old school' sales manager Bill Dickie (God rest his soul) who beat into me (almost literally) a way of working as well as selling which has probably contributed more to my bank balance than anything else.

I have also had two other amazing mentors in my life who for some reason took me under their wing and taught me all they knew - probably because I was enthusiastic, open minded and listened intently and above acted on what they said. This is probably how I gained my enthusiasm for helping others without reward except of course that fantastic 'warm soup glow feeling' when I get the acknowledgment emails sometimes many months after our engagement which makes them even more gratifying.

It is certainly my impression that there are far fewer mentors around in companies today - probably too focused on their next promotion.

Chris Kaday

 

[Oz Qadir]

The various technical skills an entrepreneur needs can be taught - sales, marketing, time-management, negotiation skills whatever. What I don't believe can be taught are the attributes - risk-taking, goal orientation, focus, sacrifice etc. Business schools can turn out technocrats who may indeed turn out to be brilliant entrepreneurs, but then they would have been anyway.

I think Mike hit the nail on the proverbial head. Technical skills are a must. Further, IMHO, the most important entreprenurial attribute is risk-taking - and this can't be taught. Risk adverseness is an attribute which is developed over years of life-experiences, so teaching it through a course would be impossible - and if anyone tells you that they can teach you to be more risky - forget it! (don't take THAT risk! )

All the best,
oz

 

[swsw]

Have to disagree,

Risk taking is a skill so you need to practice to get good sure.

It's like a muscle, you start off gently with low amounts, then build up.

But how to assess and take risks can be taught.

It's just the skill that takes time to develop.

Can anyone do it ? Yes.

Can anyone be great at it ? Yes.

How do you get good ? Read and study the masters, and anyone else you can. Then get to the 'gym' and practice.

You can be an expert in any subject in 2 weeks or less (expert being someone who knows more than 95% of the population).

Mastery takes a little longer.

All the best,

Steve

 

I think Mike hit the nail on the proverbial head. Technical skills are a must. Further, IMHO, the most important entreprenurial attribute is risk-taking -

And these are the people who will end up owing you money.

If you look at the dragons den lot ( maybe not the best example ) but are successfull in terms of money aquired.

you will see the one thing they have in common is that they do not take risks and have often passed up very good prospects because of there caution.

or to quote me (fools rush in where angels fear to tread )

Having the ability to sort the high risk from the low risk is what makes a successfull business person

Please name me one high risk success story?

Earl

 

[swsw]

Donald Trump

 

[swsw]

Richard Branson

 

[swsw]

Bill Gates

 

[cjd]

Triumph motor cycles, Dyson vacuum cleaners, First Direct Bank, Direct Line insurance, Sky TV, Dell computers, Microsoft, IPod, Starbucks, Cobra beer etc etc etc etc - thousands of them.

 

Donald Trump

he only risked his dad's money read his biograpthy

 

Bill Gates

What bloody risk?

 

Triumph motor cycles, Dyson vacuum cleaners, First Direct Bank, Direct Line insurance, Sky TV, Dell computers, Microsoft, IPod, Starbucks, Cobra beer etc etc etc etc - thousands of them.

dyson took no risks and he nicked someone elses invention I will do the rest when I get time

Earl

 

[swsw]

'dyson took no risks'

Really, please elaborate.

Steve

 

[cjd]

dyson took no risks and he nicked someone elses invention I will do the rest when I get time

Earl

Ok and when you do tell me which ones you would have put your own money into at day 0

 

[swsw]

'he only risked his dad's money'

'What bloody risk ?'

Have you been drinking ?

Steve

 

[Lasting Designs]

So how about a Poll, this thread has lost its way me thinks...

1. Yes it can be taught

2. No it can't

3. It can be learned

4. It can't be learned

All of which ARE different answers. With provisos between learning and teaching?

 

[Cornish Steve]

What bloody risk?

Bill Gates took plenty of risks. For example,

- Forgo college to start a company.
- Make your system open (a crucial but risky decision that finished off Apple).

 

Bill Gates took plenty of risks. For example,

- Forgo college to start a company.
- Make your system open (a crucial but risky decision that finished off Apple).

oh dear poor Bill

lifeboat men take risks

soldiers take risks

mountain climbers take risks

racing drivers take risks

lets get real

entrepreneurs don't take risks

Earl

 

[Cornish Steve]

It's a different type of risk - calculated business risks. The price of failure may not be death but it might well be financial ruin.

 

calculated business risks. The price of failure may not be death but it might well be financial ruin.

calculated risk ,almost a contradiction in terms

Financial ruin don't exist in the UK we have the welfare state

and I'll take it over the other option anyday


Earl

 

[Cornish Steve]

Financial ruin don't exist in the UK we have the welfare state

...which may be another reason why Britain doesn't have as many entrepreneurs as some other countries. The threat of failure can be a real incentive to succeed.

I forget who (maybe Rockefeller?) but someone wrote that the best first step for any business entrepreneur is to rent an office. That means you have a bill that must be paid. If you fail and the government pays the bill for you, however, it rather undermines the advice.

 

[cjd]

entrepreneurs don't take risks

Earl

They sure as hell would try not to.

I've lost the plot a little though. I thought for a while we were talking about financial risk?

 

They sure as hell would try not to.

I've lost the plot a little though. I thought for a while we were talking about financial risk?

Me to time for me Horlicks and bed :|

 

[swsw]

What about time risk ?

One of the problems people have when changing from having a job to starting a business is getting away from 'I do this then I get paid this much' eg work for 8 hours and get £100.

In your own business you may work for 8 hours, on for example a marketing campaign, and you don't know what return you'll get (at first).

Which is why people hate to do marketing, there's no reliable quid-pro-quo, at first.

You try a few things, and many won't work. You may feel you've wasted your time.

Whereas an experienced entrepreneur, like a salesman, will think the more I try the more I succeed in failing, and get closer to my goals.

But try commiting to doing something for a period of time, not knowing if it'll work, feel what that's like, and then tell me there's no risk.

And just because you tested something and it worked before, doesn't mean it'll continue to work. Things always change, there's always risk.

The trick is to get comfortable with it, and wherever possible, not put all your eggs in one basket, one sales process, and definately NOT in one customer.

All the best,

Steve

 

[David White]

ABSOLUTELY YES, I have worked in sales for 10 years and know many people including in my existing job and it does not take a genius, just a good idea and a little money to back it up.

Many people have the myth that people can actually been born natural born sales people WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH, we can do anything with the right training and materials if we want to.

THE SKY IS THE LIMIT!

 

[Chris Kaday]

Absolutely David

I was taught my sales skills and gained my 'hunger' in a tough sales environment. We sold we ate - it was that simple. I eat very well now as a result of that experience.

Chris Kaday

 

[Astaroth]

join the conversation late and probably restate what has been said many times already

I think that anything can be taught/ learned however there is a natural skill/ ability to it too as well as the general outlook on life/ personality for it. There are many people who are happy with their 9-5 jobs who do not have any desire for anything "more"

Whilst some will say the massively successful are simply lucky/ were in the right place at the right time it is amazing how these same people keep finding themselves in the right place at the right time - as if they almost know where it is.

 

[Lasting Designs]

FWIW, I think that it can be taught, pretty much in the way a sportsman can be trained.

The tuition will to a large degree determine the level of achievement, if the natural ability of the pupil is greater than the teacher then its more than likely the ability will shine through. What you can't teach is instinct, you might be able to teach how to recognise instict, but the way its used I believe is a natural skill, and one that might yield a different/unpredictable outcome from what one would expect. It is these outcomes that define the genius of the entrepreneur.

In a sporting context, look at Gazza v Scotland Euro 96, it was instict that produced that goal, you won't find that technique in any manual.

Oh for somebody to have a Gazza moment or two over the next week or so....

 

In a sporting context, look at Gazza v Scotland Euro 96, it was instict that produced that goal,

well it certainly weren't his brain

 

[Lasting Designs]

In a sporting context, look at Gazza v Scotland Euro 96, it was instict that produced that goal,

well it certainly weren't his brain

It was, but his brains were in his boots...

 

[I, Brian]

"But do you think becoming a successful business owner can really be taught?"

I think there's a big difference between being competent at business, and being visionary. I think entrepreneurs generally refers to the visionary element.

I think that requires a certain combination of personal attributes, personal attitude, as well as the right skill set. You can teach the skill set, maybe even something of attitude, but not so much personal attributes.

I actually tried to define an entrepreneur here:
http://www.platinax.co.uk/blog/123-what-makes-an-entrepreneur/

I should probably have added "multi-tasking" as well.

But overall, I think it's difficult to teach entrepreneurship. Certainly one of my more recent partnership experiments has helped underline that some people just aren't up to the task, no matter how well-meaning or otherwise good your personal relationship with them.

 

Great blog Brian.

I think the debate is a bit confused are we defining entrepreneurs as the people who go on to make mega bucks or the thousands of people who run successfull business's at a more modest level?

do we say that a true entrepreneur is someone who makes 10 million or what?

I was struck when watching the life story of Pavarotti how much training and hard work and also business acumen it took to change him from in his own words "a small voice" into the superb tenor he became.

I think the point I am making is that interest and enthusism is what drives people to great heights no matter what area of human endevour.

And no matter how much so called "natural ability" one has without training it would never see the light of day.

Earl

 

[profitxchange]

I do not think entrepreneurship can be taught in the conventional sense. It comes from gaining sound business experience, absolute confidence in ones'self, and thus the willingness to take high risks.

"An entrepreneure makes their money from selling businesses not running them."

I have been involved with a particular faith group where they do teach "business" in their final year at school. The pupils have to develop a full business plan for a business idea and present it to banks for funding!

"Business" is something that should be compulsory in all schools.

 

[DanMartin]

We've extended the closing date of this poll until 30th September and as an added extra everyone who takes part will be entered into a competition to win a copy of marketing expert Nigel Temple's latest book: How to get clients to come to you: A seven stage system for attracting and keeping clients.

Members who have taken part in the poll before today will be included in the prize draw.

Good luck!

 

[hypermuse]

This was actually a question on one of my university exams. The correct answer was supposedly that there are certain strategies that most entrepreneurs use that can eb taught but to be successful they usually have certain characteristics such as risk taking that can't be learnt

 

[miketombs]

A while ago I was asked by a South African publisher to write a book on small business management. The very first chapter was entitled 'Do you have what it takes to be self-employed?'. The very first trait discussed was attitude to risk, and the second one was about positive and negative attitudes. Neither of those can be taught, but risk acceptance and a positive attitude under pressure are key attributes for succesful entrepreneurs. Technical skills came in at number 8 out of 12. The 'ranking' was mine, but based on what I had seen dealing with SME's and start-ups over a number of years. (If anyone wants the whole chapter, PM me with an e-mail address - it will be broadly relevant in the UK as well).

 

[nkkil]

The act of doing business can be taught and people can sure learn these essential tools to starting and running a business, however like everything else to some it comes quite naturally while others will have to put in more work. However I find that where you truly learn about business is not really in the classroom but out there in the real world, so perhaps if these courses were more hands-on than writing dissertations or more mentorship programmes than lectures, the courses will be more effective. I say it is much better and easier to learn on the job than in a classroom those practical experiences are worth their weight in GOLD.

 

[Chris Kaday]

I absolutely agree with this. Business is not an academic exercise and although the principals can be taught there is no substitute for experience. Many of those who teach on these courses have never run a successful business either. Think how many ex bank managers must be in Business link? So maybe they should go on the experience programmes first!
Chris Kaday

The act of doing business can be taught and people can sure learn these essential tools to starting and running a business, however like everything else to some it comes quite naturally while others will have to put in more work. However I find that where you truly learn about business is not really in the classroom but out there in the real world, so perhaps if these courses were more hands-on than writing dissertations or more mentorship programmes than lectures, the courses will be more effective. I say it is much better and easier to learn on the job than in a classroom those practical experiences are worth their weight in GOLD.

 

[nkkil]

I absolutely agree with this. Business is not an academic exercise and although the principals can be taught there is no substitute for experience. Many of those who teach on these courses have never run a successful business either. Think how many ex bank managers must be in Business link? So maybe they should go on the experience programmes first!
Chris Kaday

Hey Chris
I totally agree with your comments, the world of business is a world full of change and requires the kind of fluidity only a person who has been in business for themselves can relate to. When you hear lectures from those who actually run a business, you can immediately see the quality of their experience evident in what they say and the illustrations they provide. It can be quite frustrating for entrepreneurs when they have to listen to some theoretical huha from an academic with no experience or as you said an ex bank manager with absolutely no idea of the practical skills required to run a business.
Nkkil

 

[Chris Kaday]

Yes I refuse to talk at 'stand behind the lectern and lecture' events. I prefer a workshop environment where I can challenge, ask questions and find out the issues and come up with added value in real time. I spoke at an event for EMAP last week in Birmingham which was attended 170 PSs to senior health authority management - all ladies. Even then I sat at their tables whilst they were having their coffee before the start and found out why they had come and the issues they had and then used that input to engage with them when it came to my turn to speak.
I have more business events where i am speaking coming up but I would really like to find more opportunities to workshop with businesses especially start ups in 2008 - any takers?
Chris Kaday


Hey Chris
I totally agree with your comments, the world of business is a world full of change and requires the kind of fluidity only a person who has been in business for themselves can relate to. When you hear lectures from those who actually run a business, you can immediately see the quality of their experience evident in what they say and the illustrations they provide. It can be quite frustrating for entrepreneurs when they have to listen to some theoretical huha from an academic with no experience or as you said an ex bank manager with absolutely no idea of the practical skills required to run a business.
Nkkil

 

[buhh]

My parents are in business, so were my grandparents, so yes it can be taught.