Attributes of Entrepreneurs: Personality Versus Perspective

This presentation will address the general conference topic: what are the attributes of successful entrepreneurs? The presentation will begin with a brief history of the term - Entrepreneur, including its evolution from a descriptor of farmers in the 1800s who faced price-uncertainty when planting crops each season -- to the 20th century definition of an entrepreneur as the instigator of the creative destruction that brings about fundamental industry change. The presentation will briefly review the large body of research that has investigated entrepreneurial personalities -- and conclude with the key point that successful entrepreneurs and successful managers do not differ in personality, but they do differ in perspective. These differences in perspective are very real, can be addressed in the classroom, and can serve as the basis for curriculum development. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of the entrepreneurial process -- the process of moving inventions to the market place as innovations. The elements of the entrepreneurial process will be discussed, showing the key role that an entrepreneurial perspective can play in laying a foundation for success