March 4, 2015

Leadership

In focus: Entrepreneurship

By: AF Editors

When working in the policy world, it is hard to think of yourself as an entrepreneur or organizations as entrepreneurial. After all, you are not creating a product that floats or sinks your company depending on an ability to make the bottom line. You are, however, trying to sell ideas that inspire you and can effect real change in the world. And, similar to the founders of tech start-ups or clothing companies, you are driven by passion and a real commitment to the ideas you or your organization stand for. It is no surprise, then, that the organizations and individuals that succeed in the policy world demonstrate traits similar to entrepreneurial companies and individuals. Whether it be the use of social media, modern innovations in HR and company culture management, or other developments yet undiscovered, think tanks and nonprofits are operating like start-ups and looking for new ways to promote their mission. Your chances, as an individual professional, to succeed in this environment and carve out your niche depend on your ability to be open to innovation and capitalize on opportunities. By extension, fostering an entrepreneurial culture in your organization will likely determine its success in an ever unpredictable world.

If you read anything this month, read Here Comes The Disrupters – the January/February “special entrepreneurship” issue of Foreign Affairs. The editors surveyed a range of successful entrepreneurs – from Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to Skype’s Niklas Zennstrom – and asked them about their own stories, and the qualities that make entrepreneurs and their enterprises successful. Furthermore, the policy papers at the back of the issue discuss the unique challenges of the modern economy – a chance for readers, particularly those working the field of ideas, to apply the entrepreneurial advice they received in the same very magazine.

How can policy organizations come up with solutions to our pressing challenges, and how can passionate individuals “sell” those ideas to the general public? By thinking and acting like entrepreneurs. The following excerpts are particularly trenchant quotes from some of the leaders interviewed.

 

On company culture and leadership:

“Corporate culture and the selection of people… a culture that rewards experimentation even as it embraces the fact that it is going to lead to failure.”

“We have a long-standing practice of staying focused on our customers rather than our competitors.”

  • Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com.

“Companies that are easy to do business with always win. Simplicity is they key attribute of a winning business.”

  • Marcelo Claure, current CEO of Sprint and founder of Brightstar.

“Once you listen to everybody, and then the decisions are made, then all of us need to row in that direction. That’s how companies move forward.“

“I made every engineer in my company a shareholder. That was something I felt strongly about – that we needed to build a committed team. That proved to be a great thing, because we had a high retention rate and complete devotion from our work force.”

  • Mo Ibrahim, mobile communications pioneer.

 

On the entrepreneurial qualities of individuals and organizations:

“Courage – because as an entrepreneur, you’re trying to do something that no one has done before, and a lot of people will try to discourage you. You need to have a lot of courage to take the first step and stay your path through all the challenges. That’s very, very important. Another important thing is curiosity – being curious about how things work, trying to see around corners, trying to understand what the world could be like in the future. And the ability to question the status quo, to ask why things cannot be done in a different way.”

  • Niklas Zennstrom, co-founder of Kazaa and Skype.

“The issue with companies that lose their way is that they’re run by people who do not act like founders.”

“The last thing many companies need are managers. Most companies would be way better off with more entrepreneurs than managers. It’s fine to have things that aren’t perfect and have some rough edges and have a reasonably chaotic environment that’s a bit unpredictable but is vibrant, is developing new products, and is moving very quickly. That’s far preferable to having a well-managed, predictable, slow-moving company.”

  • Michael Moritz, prominent venture capitalist and author.

 

The entire issue is filled with insight not only into leadership and organizational development, but also into how technology and public policy affect entrepreneurial organizations. As professionals, it is important to learn what makes the world’s top individuals and organizations successful, so that you can apply their insights to your own endeavors.

 

Gregory J. Fitton is online director at America’s Future.