Entrepreneurs: Different Personalities or Different Framing Skills?

Bad times in the economy fuel dreams of becoming an entrepreneur. Do you have the right stuff to follow those dreams? You might be surprised by Cardiff Garcia's summary of the latest research regarding the nature of the "right stuff".

Garcia summarizes important evidence-based knowledge about who becomes an entrepreneur:

1. Much "knowledge" about who becomes an entrepreneur is actually folk wisdom rooted in false stereotypes that pervade popular culture.
2. Before spouting off about what makes an entrepreneur, you need to define entrepreneurship very carefully.
3. Entrepreneurs come in a variety of personality types and with a variety of motivational patterns. Predicting entrepreneurship with personality variables is poorly supported except in regard to need for achievement. Shades of David McClelland!
4. Sunny optimists or dark pessimists are not typical entrepreneurs. Instead, entrepreneurs are realists who attack challenges with a sense of confidence. (See below)
   
5. When they embark on a task, they have a strong sense of self-efficacy: They expect to succeed. This kind of belief is rooted in framing techniques which can be learned by a broad range of personalities. (Is it time you learned about Bandler and Grinder?)
6. Entrepreneurs frame their intense work as a source of intense pleasure in life. They are willing to sacrifice other activities for the pleasures of working.

Before going to the article, test your beliefs about entrepreneurs by some T/F questions from it:

1. Entrepreneurs want financial success more than most people.  (T/F)
2. Entrepreneurs are more likely to think they control their fate.  (T/F)
3. Entrepreneurs want recognition for their work more than others.  (T/F)
4. Entrepreneurs care more about following family traditions (so if their parents built a business, they’re more likely to try building one too).  (T/F)
5. Entrepreneurs expect to succeed to a greater extent than employees.  (T/F)

The Take-Away:

Framing skills learned for self-management are more important than personality dispositions when it comes to predicting entrepreneurship.

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