8 Patterns of Highly Effective Entrepreneurs

8 Patterns of Highly Effective Entrepreneurs8 Patterns of Highly Effective EntrepreneursBy Brent Bowers; Currency Doubleday, 2007

S o y o u t h i n k y o u ' r e a n

entrepreneur? Do you have a

vision? Are you passionate about

this vision of yours? Do you believe

that you've just stumbled upon the

next biggest thing

since Microsoft? If

you do, then we

could, at the very

least, conclude that

you do possess a

c e r t a i n

en t rep reneur ia l

trait. You, just like

all entrepreneurs,

think big. But you

aren't a certified

entrepreneur just

yet. There's more

to an entrepreneur

than just a big

dream or a grand

idea.

If anything, what distinguishes

entrepreneurs from the rest is their

drive to act and go for that dream.

They aren't just talkers. They are

movers. What sets them apart

further is how they move. Sure,

everyone has a dream and

everyone has their own way of

reaching their dreams,

but it's the when, why,

w h a t a n d h o w

entrepreneurs act to

make their dreams

come true that makes

them who they are.

8 Patterns of Highly

E f f e c t i v e

Entrepreneurs dissects

the minds and habits of

s o m e o f t o d a y ' s

r e m a r k a b l e

en t repreneurs and

gives you an insider on

what it takes to be an

entrepreneur. If you find

these patterns in you, welcome to

the club.

Inside This Book Summary:Inside This Book Summary:

The Big Idea

Seeing Beyond the Beyond

They are All Free Men

The Leader of the Band

Going Down the Line

Rolling With the Punches

Doggedness

A Natural High

read the summaryread the summary

B r e n t

Bowers, a

l o n g t i m e

s m a l l -

b u s i n e s s

editor at The

New Yo r k

Times and

T h e W a l l

Street Journal, is author of

The Eight Patterns of Highly

Effective Entrepreneurs,

now out in paperback

(Doubleday).

His column In the Hunt

scrutinizes the changing

world of small business and

the colorful characters who

inhabit it.

About the Author/s:About the Author/s:

for author info for author info

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Will This Really Work?

Failing Upward

technology. He just has to find an

innovative and creative way of doing

things. There is never one way of

addressing things for them. They are

always constantly looking at the same

things in different angles.

Second: Entrepreneurs have a

compulsion to be in charge and, tied to

that, they have a gift for leadership.

Entrepreneurs are loyal to one, and only

one, boss: themselves. They reject

authority. Sure they've all been employed

at some point in time in their lives and it was

most likely at that time that they affirmed

their need to run their own show. They just

can't stand taking orders from someone

else or work under a system that isn't

theirs.

Entrepreneurs want to be in charge. No,

they need to be in charge. This need is not

so much of a thirst for power; rather, it's a

cry for freedom. They need to have that

flexibility to do things their way and at their

pace. They want that freedom in controlling

their own lives, ergo, their own businesses.

This need to be in charge without being

power hungry highlights entrepreneurs'

ability to lead. Entrepreneurs are born

leaders. They lead by example and by

action. Their being ethical and honest

earns them respect. Moreover, they aren't

respected because of rank: They are

respected because of who they are.

Author: Brent Bowers

Publisher: Currency Doubleday

Date of Publication: 2007

ISBN: 978-0385515474

Number of Pages: 210 pages

First: Entrepreneurs have an aptitude for

spotting and seizing opportunities.

If you read the first pattern carefully, you'll

notice that this pattern has two elements in

it. First is spotting the opportunity and

second, seizing it. These are two entirely

different things. The first is seeing an

opportunity. The second is acting on the

first. Entrepreneurs always do both. They

see. They move.

Entrepreneurs have a gift for noticing things.

They see the extraordinary in the ordinary.

They are able to find opportunities that are

hidden in plain sight. To entrepreneurs,

there is no such thing as a problem. To them,

problems are opportunities just waiting to be

unlocked.

It's not so much about finding a solution that

makes one an entrepreneur. Anyone can

find a solution to any problem. What defines

an entrepreneur is his or her ability to find

unconventional solutions to ordinary

problems. Being unconventional means he

doesn't have to invent some new

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About the Book:About the Book:

2 of 62 of 6

Seeing Beyond the BeyondSeeing Beyond the Beyond

They are All Free MenThey are All Free Men

8 Patterns of Highly Effective Entrepreneurs by Brent Bowers8 Patterns of Highly Effective Entrepreneurs by Brent Bowers

Being the natural born leaders that they

are, entrepreneurs know how to inspire

their col leagues and employees.

Entrepreneurs make each person working

for them feel important. They hire good

people, give them enough breathing room

to perform their jobs well, and above all

else, treat them with respect. They value

loyalty, they listen, they mentor rather than

criticize.

The result: good karma. Everything comes

back to them two fold. First, because they

are such good leaders, people stay with

these entrepreneurs. Their companies

have very low attrition rates. People work

better with and for them. These

entrepreneurs have a very productive

workforce.

Second, as a result of entrepreneurs being

good listeners, they learn a lot and are able

to apply these learnings to their

businesses.

As gracious as these entrepreneurs are,

they do know that they will not tolerate poor

performance. It's always a fair trade. As

much as they give to their employees, they

expect their employees to do their jobs

well.

Third: A history of innovative activities

dating back to childhood.

Entrepreneurs aren't made overnight.

Then again, are entrepreneurs even made at

a l l? Can anyone be molded in to

entrepreneurs or are entrepreneurs born

entrepreneurs?

There have been debates left and right about

the existence of a hereditary entrepreneurial

gene. As entrepreneurs might attest; it runs

in the blood. The antithesis however is that

it's the environment that one grows up in that

turns him or her into a full blooded

entrepreneur. Although science claims of no

such entrepreneurial gene, it does

acknowledge genetic predispositions to

certain behaviors that might be considered

entrepreneurial. The best example of this

hereditary trait for instance is high energy

levels.

These hereditary traits alone however do not

guarantee one 's becoming as an

entrepreneur. And this is where the

environment comes into play. Children who

grow up with small-business role models,

encouraged to pursue creative activities, and

are instilled with a risk-taking mentality are

most likely to become entrepreneurs. On the

flipside, children who are born into a very safe

and secure environment, who are taught to

be wary of risks, are likely to opt for the peace

of mind a pay check brings.

Whatever the case, entrepreneurs are

definitely molded by experience. And their

turning into entrepreneurs often always

begins with their acquaintance to sales. All

entrepreneurs will have done some selling

during their youth. They loved it then and

continue to love it now. Entrepreneurs will

always have that passion for marking up

prices beyond all reason.


3 of 63 of 6

The Leader of the BandThe Leader of the Band

Going Down the LineGoing Down the Line


Fourth: A talent for improvisation.

Entrepreneurs are nimble. They can

instantaneously adapt to any given situation

at any given point in time. That is their

competitive advantage. Their being quick

on their feet, their tolerance for ambiguity

and willingness to just go for it, coupled with

the absence of a higher authority, allows for

split-second business decisions. Since 'no'

or 'can't ' is never an option for

entrepreneurs, anything is possible with

them; and that's what gets them their

clients.

Entrepreneurs show single-mindedness

and open-mindedness at the same time.

They have their eyes dead-set on their

targets, their goals, but are also ready to

change course in a moment's notice should

the facts prove this to be the better

alternative.

Their innate agility however nests a

paradox in itself. While in the start-up

stages of their business, this flexibility in

running their businesses is what keeps

these companies ahead of the game. But as

the businesses grow, they become more

structured, more bureaucratic and slower to

react to changes and to the needs of their

consumers. At this point, entrepreneurs

must figure out a way to either stay nimble

or get the best offer for what they've started,

bail out, and start a new venture altogether.

Fifth: Fierce drive, energy and tenacity.

Entrepreneurs are go-getters. They are

energetic, indefatigable, patient, persistent,

and persevering in reaching their goals. They

never give up-- they just keep on charging

along, full speed ahead.

There is no such thing as time off for an

entrepreneur. The moment an idea (and

they're always looking for one) hits them,

their off to work. Entrepreneurs just can't sit

still, they quickly get bored and impatient with

inactivity and the slightest resemblance to a

routine.

Being focused is far from being stubborn.

Entrepreneurs know where to draw the line

between faith in their product and mere

obsession to a lost cause.

Brent Bowers, a longtime

small-business editor at The

New York Times and The

Wall Street Journal, is

author of The Eight Patterns

o f H i g h l y E f f e c t i v e

Entrepreneurs, now out in

paperback (Doubleday).

His column In the Hunt

scrutinizes the changing world of small

business and the colorful characters who

inhabit it.

To know more about the author, go to:

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/ti

mestopics/people/b/brent_bowers/index.h

tml


About the Author/s:About the Author/s:

4 of 64 of 6

Rolling With the PunchesRolling With the Punches

Doggedness Doggedness


Sixth: Enthusiasm that borders on the

delusional for a product.

Entrepreneurs believe in their products,

ardently. They talk about them as if they

were their children. They have faith that

this idea of theirs, this product, this service,

will take the world by storm.

The only thing that will limit just how big a

product can be seemingly lies in the

en t rep reneu r ' s own es t ima t i on .

Entrepreneurs never ask themselves if

their brainchild will make it big. Big is

already a given to them. But are they

thinking big enough? That's the million

dollar question.

It may seem that entrepreneurs have their

head in the clouds when it comes to how

highly they think of their products. But

make no mistake, they still have their feet

firmly planted on the ground. True they

may be a wee bit delusional in thinking

their companies will someday make it to

the Fortune 500 but that's just really part of

it: you can't reach the stars if you don't

even fantasize about reaching it. Behind all

this dreaming and big talk, entrepreneurs

will always have done their research for

their products and studies of their markets.

This justifies all their dreams of grandeur.

Seventh: Unfailing pragmatism.

This may sound contradictory to

entrepreneurs being ever so optimistic about

their product, but as a check and balance to

their big dreams, entrepreneurs are

pragmatic. They constantly are their own

devil's advocate. And just as much as they

say this is going to be big they also keep

asking themselves is this really going to

work?

Entrepreneurs are practical. Their solutions,

inventions and innovations may always be

unique and surprising but are, more than

anything else, practical nonetheless. That's

why they are such big hits.

Some might contest that pragmatism goes

against the idea of entrepreneur's being risk

takers. Actually, their being calculating risk

takers supports their being pragmatic.

Entrepreneurs do gamble but never do they

go on reckless gambles. This is where their

being pragmatic kicks in: by the time they

take the plunge and give it all they got,

entrepreneurs would have evaluated the

risks, the probabilities, the opportunity costs

a hundred times over.

Eighth: A knack for viewing setbacks as

opportunities.

Failure is essential to the success of

entrepreneurs. That's because to them,

failing is just another opportunity for learning.

Entrepreneurs know how to step back and

analyze what went wrong. They then get back

on their feet and charge back into the game

with a better appreciation for things, ready to

take on the next challenge.


5 of 65 of 6

Will This Really Work? Will This Really Work?

A Natural HighA Natural High

Failing UpwardFailing Upward


6 of 66 of 6


Entrepreneurs take pride in their failures.

Well not the exact failure itself, rather their

rise back from the deepest recesses of their

blunders. The harder the fall, the better the

story: It's more icing on the cake to just

recount how well managed such a setback.

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8 Patterns of Highly Effective Entrepreneurs

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