Neuro-Semanticists and Entrepreneurial Skills

So how do we develop more business intelligence? What are the qualities and features of having more business sense?

Recently I have interviewed and modeled several entrepreneurs to see if what a real live entrepreneur thinks and does fits with the research literature. To that end I interviewed Brian Hattingh, Michelle Duval, and Graham Richardson.

"I met Bryan in Johannesburg, South Africa, when he invited Michelle and I to be on his radio program, “Risky Business. ” Bryan is an entrepreneur in the IT industry and executive coach. He has created and run seven successful companies creating innovative designs in software development. Michelle Duval is an executive and personal coach, and CEO of Equilibrio which is a coaching organization in Australia, one of the fastest growing and successful organizations. She now has ten coaches working with her and two staff members. She was nominated in 2003 for “Business Woman of the Year” in Australia. And she co-created the Meta-Coaching program with me and the Axes of Change model. Graham Richardson is an executive coach in Sydney who specializes in management  competencies, career alignment, and leadership development. He is an associate with Stephenson Partnership, the largest Executive Coaching organization in Australia. In addition he has his own company is Horizon Unlimited Pty Ltd which he launched five years ago. "

What are their secrets? What are the frames of mind that allow them to lead out in pioneering new things, creating new companies, and adding value to what they do?

They are passionately sold on an idea that captivates them. This means that they believe in the product and services that they provide. They not only believe in what they do, they believe in themselves, and they believe that they add so much value to their clients. They believe that what they do will totally enrich and empower the lives of their customers and clients. Knowing that as deeply as they do, they have no problem valuing what they do, their time, effort, trouble, etc. , which allows them to charge as they do.

They see opportunities everywhere and wisely choose which opportunities to seize. When interviewing these entrepreneurs, not only does their natural enthusiasm and excitement bubble over, so does their incredible ability to see opportunities. This is one of the things about the mind-set that differs from most people. Not only are they “optimistic,” as we would expect, but they are absolutely captivated and awed by all of the opportunities that are all around them—begging them to respond to.

In other words, they live in a world of opportunities. They live in an abundant universe where everyday they are surrounded by all kinds of possibilities . . . just beckoning them to take a look and step up to the plate. For the person who doesn’t have the frames of mind that can even comprehend this, these entrepreneurs seem wild-eye, fantastic, unrealistic, crazy. But then they go and make good on the opportunities! They start businesses, they win awards, they do things that others only dream about and wish for.

They have a fantastic solution-focused attitude. Here’s something that you might find strange. The optimism of these entrepreneurs is not that of the “positive thinking” brand. They do not think “positive” in that way. In fact, this is what sets them apart. They do not easily dismiss headaches, struggles, hardship, difficulty, or problems. In fact, they love problems. Throw a problem at them and it’s like throwing fuel on a fire! They love it. And they have a boldness about how they face unpleasant realities.

What’s on their mind is solving problems, inventing new processes, patterns, products, and services, and doing what everybody else says is impossible. It is this solution-focused mentality that drives them. It is, in fact, when they are totally and absolutely stumped, they are most activated! And it is this that they seek. They want the challenge. They long for it. They love “inventing it as they go” and beginning a project without a clue . . . without the foggiest idea of what they are going to do. How about that for a different frame of mind?

These entrepreneurs begin with the problem—looking it straight in the face and asking a thousand questions about it. Then they begin thinking about all of the possibilities for solving it. They don’t have to know “the one right way. ” They easily embrace ambiguity and not-knowing. And they live with that ambiguity believing that they will eventually figure it out.

I’ve written about how opportunities are not seen with the eyes, but with the mind. It is this frame of mind, this attitude and spirit of an entrepreneur which involves welcoming problems and diving into them so that they can see beyond and behind the difficulties and challenges. Entrepreneurs know how to treat problems as the foundation for their success.

They intelligently embrace risk. There’s something else about these entrepreneurs that’s pretty incredible—they have frames about risk that set them apart from the majority. They not only embrace the risk of not-knowing, the risk of feeling uncomfortable, the risk of failing, but they also embrace the risk of looking the fool, and being vulnerable to the ridicule of others. This is their boldness. They are passionate believers in their idea, what they do, and themselves—and to those on the outside this can seem foolhardy.

I found this same attitude when I modeled “financial independence” of the self-made millionaire. They turn ideas about risk upside-down. They actually think that the most risky thing in the world is to work for someone else! For them, that’s insecurity. They consider that the most risky thing of all to do. Their frame of mind is that the person they can most trust is themselves. They would rather trust their own skills and passions then be dependent on someone else. For them, getting a paycheck is risky, launching out on your own is security. Talk about reframes! No wonder it takes a lot of self-trust, self-confidence, self-esteem, and self efficacy to be an entrepreneur. You have to find your security in trusting and believing that you can use your skills, powers, knowledge, relationships, etc. to add and create value for others.

Risk in the marketplace is a given for the entrepreneur. In response to that, these entrepreneurs embrace and value that risk and treat it respectfully as something to be managed. They then deal with as any problem is addressed—by studying it, understanding it, developing skills to handle it, creating plans, living by their plans, and using their intelligence to take calculated risks.

They do what they know, apply to themselves, and effectively manage their time, energy, and emotions. I found another trait in these entrepreneurs, they “apply to self. ” Rather than having answers and solutions for others first, they take the attitude of trying things out on themselves first. This does several things for them. It makes them congruent. It makes them aligned with what they present. It builds a reputation that they “walk their talk. ”

We know that effective entrepreneurs are self-motivated, self-directed, take initiative, and are highly proactive. But where does this come from? It comes from first applying to self. Obviously, the person who cannot manage his or her own states, motivation, time, energy, daily structure of events, billing, office, marketing, etc. will not do well engaged in a business that depends entirely on his or her own efforts. Self-management is critical for the self-employed and for anyone who wants to operate as an entrepreneur. When a person applies to self, he or she experiences an inner self-knowing about their idea, product, or service. This adds to being convinced about it.

It’s from applying to self that entrepreneurs then get themselves to act on their plans and decisions. They don’t just see opportunities, they sort through the ones that are right and appropriate, they create plans for taking action, and then they courageously seize them.  

They are not just full of talk and big ideas—they take action after they meta-detail the specifics.

They develop a discipline for efficiency and focus. From the self-management of “apply to self” comes another critical trait for the entrepreneur. Namely, the ability to be efficient and effective, to make the best use of time and energy, to govern and regulate one’s own energy and efforts. After all, when there is no one to report to, no one to direct one’s activities, the entrepreneur engages in self-regulation. He or she keeps a regular schedule, regular office hours, and monitors the activities to determine which are most effective in running the business.

They create a plan and live by that plan. I asked these entrepreneurs as I did others, how they developed their efficiency and they all spoke about setting specific, realistic, and exciting goals. I expected that. So far so good. Trained in NLP, they all knew and used the Well-Formed Outcome pattern. But highly successful entrepreneurs go further, they then monitor their progress on a regular basis and hold themselves accountable to their action plan. They also set up systems of accountability so that others also hold them accountable. Their attitude is not “how little can I can get by with?” but, “what new levels of performance can I reach?”

These entrepreneurs not only accepted feedback, but longed for it, craved it. Why? Their frame of mind is that it is only through feedback can they develop further, take their skills to the next level, and make ever-finer adjustments to their skills, products, and services. For the entrepreneur, making and following a plan eliminates the expenditure of time and energy to keep re-deciding things. One can then default to the carefully designed plan. Once developed, a person can then refuse to revise goals downward when frustrated or set-back, and to let the carefully chosen goals continue to beckon them into one’s future, regardless of current performance.

They build systems that support their products and services. These entrepreneurs also were highly skilled in setting up people, systems, and administrative systems for their business. They developed financial systems for monetary accountability and monitoring, for handling employees, suppliers, clients and customers.

> Part 3: Entrepreneurs at Work