My Hero's Journey: Chapter 14 (Final)

  So, my final entry!  For this “last lecture”, I’ve been instructed to share my thoughts and advice for those wanting to begin the entrepreneur journey.  I find it difficult to do that, given the small little fact that I’m not actually an entrepreneur.  So I’m going to direct this advice more to myself, and maybe I will look back on this at a latter date.

  So, you want to be an entrepreneur, eh?  I don’t have much first-hand experience to offer you, but I’ve read enough books and watched enough videos to discuss the topic, at least on a theoretical basis.  What makes an entrepreneur?  I think there are a lot of misconceptions about being an entrepreneur.  I’ve gotten into the habit of watching Shark Tank when it comes on.  It is an enjoyable practice to examine the strengths and weaknesses of each entrepreneur’s sales pitch.  What looks incredible at first glance can quickly degrade into a quibbling mess.  Even when one’s pitch has been picked to pieces, and found to be lackluster at it’s core, the entrepreneur doesn’t give up.  They’ve put years of their life into this moment, and they believe in their vision, their pitch, their business.  At times, I see this as foolish optimism - the idea isn’t very good, why push through on a foolish errand?  At other times, their belief is something to be admired.  How many of us sit on the sidelines of our own lives, content to let the moments slip through our fingers, too uninspired or lacking in hope or motivation to seize opportunities?  

  This phenomenon is incredibly fascinating.  The balance between optimism and pessimism is perhaps best illustrated in the life of these individuals.  When I ask myself, what does it take to be an entrepreneur, this is the basis of thought that I frequently return to.  It is about the balance, I believe.  Look at the temperature of the human body: 98.6 fahrenheit.  What a precise measurement!  Fall just a few measly degrees below, and you’ve got hypothermia.  Rise a little too far, and heat stroke’s your new roommate.  Being an entrepreneur is like finding your 98.6 degrees, where optimism and pessimism exist in perfect harmony, where one does not mislead the other.  

  You’ve got to have a great idea, know your market, believe in your idea, accept feedback, don’t be so optimistic that you become infatuated with an idea that’s stupid, and don’t be so pessimistic that you turn your cheek to opportunities for small and twisted roads that could become the long and hard, but ultimately worth it, road to success.  There is a reason that many entrepreneur’s fail, and I believe it comes down to finding this balance.  It is elusive, coveted, the holy grail of the business world; but it exists, there to be found for the adventurer, the explorer of the modern world: the entrepreneur.   

My Hero's Journey: Chapter 13

  The readings for this week reminded me of the vital role of dealing with risk and failure.  As I’ve had more life experiences, I’ve come to realize that failure is a tricky, misleading word to use.  I used to walk into situations thinking, okay, I will either fail or succeed at this task.  You can choose to look at things that way, and you wouldn’t necessarily be wrong, but there is a better way of seeing it.  If we look at every experience as an opportunity for growth, even in seeming failure, there is a hidden truth to be discovered.  The most startlingly beautiful truths remain concealed until we make the effort to find them.  

  We crack open geodes, the most unassuming of rocks, to reveal their hidden crystals.  Lotuses begin life in the depths of the mud, and grow until they break the surface to unfurl into brilliant, pink-petaled flowers.  The natural world is abundant in hidden treasures that must undergo a process to be discovered, whether through internal or external forces.  We can experience a similar blossoming effect when we trust that even in tough circumstances, there is something great within ourselves to discover.  By embracing this phenomenon, we can find our potential and deal with difficulty in such a way that we find strength and beauty in the most difficult of experiences.  

My Hero's Journey: Chapter 12

 Reading “What’s a Business For?” this week raised a few points of thought for me.  

  Virtue and integrity.  Virtue is behavior that shows high moral standards.  Integrity is the quality of being honest and possessing strong moral principles.  These are such important themes in all facets of life, including in the business world.  In 2002, according to the article, a Gallup poll found that 90% of Americans felt that those who run corporations could not be trusted to look out for the interests of their employees.  It would be easy to blame these top players for this general sense of insecurity in the country.  Yet, they are playing by the rules of the game.  The new rules, that is.  A huge part of success in our economy is shareholder value.  Increasing productivity and long-term profitability are only two options to make this happen.  Mergers are another, which, in the end, usually don’t add much value to a company.  If the slow road to growth is pursued, that growth will be tenfold more worthwhile, because it will have been achieved organically, through a problem-solving, creative process.  

  This all leads back to the question of why virtue and integrity are so important to an economy.  As my example above illustrates, companies play by rules.  If those rules are rewritten, so does their behavior.  When virtue and integrity are the rule writing executives, among other qualities, they will construct a system that in turn creates more mindfully growth oriented businesses.  Until we make that a priority, however, we will have a very difficult time in making these ideals a true reality in the marketplace.  

  According to the author, Charles Handy, the real justification for the existence of a business is to make a profit, so that they can create something more or better.  This fact is important to owners, but useless to investors.  

  Handy offers a few changes that need to be made in the economy.  First, businesses need to take best practice into their own hands, before waiting for the law to tell them so.  By taking charge in areas such as environmental and social sustainability, businesses take a stand for what is right.  Through giving to the community, they cultivate a culture that is based on virtue and integrity.  

  Second, in order to sustain and care for their human assets, businesses need to determine ways to protect people from the demands of their jobs.  As it becomes more strenuous for individuals to balance the role of work, personal, and family, businesses are in danger of running a work force composed of stressed, robotic humans that have lost their spark for their jobs.  When businesses see themselves as communities, they will care for their member’s individual needs.  This benefits all parties.  I cannot agree more with the truth of these solutions.