The Three Faces of Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurship as an Attitude is an Untapped Resource
Entrepreneurship
is often mentioned as a key solution in pursuing growth or, for example,
building a more flexible labor market for future needs. At the same time,
it has been great to see a more positive attitude towards
entrepreneurship. Yet entrepreneurship is often seen too one-sidedly.
When talking
about entrepreneurship, the main topics of discussion are often the problems of
legislation and the uncertainty and challenges of entrepreneurial
life. These are very important issues that need to be addressed and
problems need to be resolved. At the same time, however, we are missing
out on much of the positive resource that entrepreneurship, and especially
entrepreneurial thinking and action models, can provide in any environment.
"All people
are entrepreneurs" -Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel laureate
Entrepreneurship
is not tied to a specific legal form of enterprise but is an attitude to life,
work, self-development, and working with others. Different forms of
entrepreneurship could be perceived in the following three ways, for example.
1. Entrepreneurship way of life: "I own my own boss"
When we talk
about entrepreneurship, we often refer specifically to the people for whom it
is a way of life. This is understandable, as most current entrepreneurs
are likely to belong to this group (e.g. Commitments in the EK survey ). In
the words of Skype founder Niklas Zennström, “Being an entrepreneur is not a
job, but a way of life”.
The media is
happy to tell the stories of serial entrepreneurs (e.g. Elon Musk or Richard Branson) about how they have changed the world through
entrepreneurship. These stories of success, but also of entrepreneurial
failures, are important trendsetters, especially for new
entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurship
as a way of life gives great freedom to make your own choices, but at the same
time, it can also be demanding and risky. For many, such an idea of
complete surrender to entrepreneurship feels alienated and leads to the
conclusion that “entrepreneurship is not for me”. Fortunately,
there are other options in entrepreneurship.
2. Entrepreneurship as a tool: “Entrepreneurship allows me to realize myself”
For many of
entrepreneurs- entrepreneurship is a way of life, but for many, it is precisely a
tool. Entrepreneurship is a tool that allows you to realize your own
vision, change the world, or even seek new experiences.
Speaking to
students, Matt Rogers, founder of Nest, a manufacturer of home
smart devices, summed up the idea of entrepreneurship well
by saying “I never wanted to be an entrepreneur. I just wanted to build
products that are easy to use ”. Entrepreneurship is not necessarily a
lifelong choice, but paid work, for example, can just as well be chosen as a
tool. This was also the case for Nestin Rogers, a company Google bought
some years ago.
3. Entrepreneurship as an approach: "I have my own life entrepreneur"
Linkedin
founder Reid Hoffman talks about entrepreneurship as an attitude
in his book “The Start-Up of You”. Michael
Bloomberg describes the attitude as follows: “Entrepreneurship is not really a
matter of starting a business. Rather, it is a way of looking at the
world: seeing opportunities instead of challenges and taking risks when others
go to shelter. ”
The idea of
owning one’s own life, doing, and development is at the heart of the
attitude. Few of the lifelong jobs of previous generations will be
available, so for most, thinking is also a necessity. Primarily, however,
it is a question of being able to take better control of one’s own
life. Support mechanisms and the help of others are always needed, but a
whole new kind of opportunity and success can be achieved through an
entrepreneurial attitude.
Entrepreneurship is an attitude, a resource and a force for change
Regardless of
the type of business, an entrepreneurial attitude to everything you do can be a
significant resource. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to help more
than four hundred former Microsoft and Nokia employees learn about
entrepreneurship and build a new career for themselves through entrepreneurial
ideas. For some, it meant starting their own business, and for
others, looking at their own skills and sometimes even their attitudes toward
life through entrepreneurial mindsets.
Not everyone
needs and does not even want to start their own business. However, it is
good for all of us to think about our own skills and, for example, the role in
the work community through an entrepreneurial attitude. How should I
develop myself? Or how do I make sure customers get the best possible
service or product, even if it’s not directly at my own risk? Likewise,
companies should make room for people’s inherent entrepreneurship. It
requires a new kind of leadership and operating model. Such entrepreneurial
flexibility of individuals and organizations provides a good basis for change
and the utilization of change situations.
Final Note
We need more
entrepreneurs in our own lives in the future. People who, as
entrepreneurs, are constantly learning new things and looking for fresh
solutions, whether they are students, government employees, startup
entrepreneurs, or working in a large listed company, for example. We live
as individuals and companies in rapid change that is often perceived as
uncertainty. An entrepreneur sees change as an opportunity to learn,
develop, and build new value for themselves and the surrounding community.
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