By: Tim Mahoney
Last week, The Wall Street Journal hosted its “Unleashing Innovation” conference in Singapore featuring a group of entrepreneurs, industry executives, and CEOs from global brands such as General Electric, Nokia, and Sony, just to name a few. This was a big event and more than 25 countries were represented.
The big question being debated was, “How can companies generate the spark that ignites the next big thing?” The answers ranged from the familiar: cultivate creativity, a dynamic workplace, irreverence, risk-taking, and cross-discipline networking to the more practical: a need for more regulatory innovation.
Of course, all these answers are actionable, but what I found most interesting and applicable to 681 Group and the clients we serve was the agenda item “Achieving Entrepreneurial Success”, as every client we have worked with during the past 20+ years has been an entrepreneurial, privately-held business.
A leadership group offered these important points...
1. See A Change. Successful entrepreneurs must have self-confidence, passion, and focus. They must have a dream they believe in.
2. Take It. They must have a tolerance for risk. They may fear failure, but they have to be willing to chance it. They must be resilient.
3. Find Resources. They need enough capital to get their idea off the ground. Capital for an entrepreneur is like oxygen for a scuba diver.
4. Stand Apart. They need a clear strategic vision -- a strong sense of their customers, their goals, and the reasons their products or services are substantially different from others already in the marketplace.
Last week, The Wall Street Journal hosted its “Unleashing Innovation” conference in Singapore featuring a group of entrepreneurs, industry executives, and CEOs from global brands such as General Electric, Nokia, and Sony, just to name a few. This was a big event and more than 25 countries were represented.
The big question being debated was, “How can companies generate the spark that ignites the next big thing?” The answers ranged from the familiar: cultivate creativity, a dynamic workplace, irreverence, risk-taking, and cross-discipline networking to the more practical: a need for more regulatory innovation.
Of course, all these answers are actionable, but what I found most interesting and applicable to 681 Group and the clients we serve was the agenda item “Achieving Entrepreneurial Success”, as every client we have worked with during the past 20+ years has been an entrepreneurial, privately-held business.
A leadership group offered these important points...
1. See A Change. Successful entrepreneurs must have self-confidence, passion, and focus. They must have a dream they believe in.
2. Take It. They must have a tolerance for risk. They may fear failure, but they have to be willing to chance it. They must be resilient.
3. Find Resources. They need enough capital to get their idea off the ground. Capital for an entrepreneur is like oxygen for a scuba diver.
4. Stand Apart. They need a clear strategic vision -- a strong sense of their customers, their goals, and the reasons their products or services are substantially different from others already in the marketplace.