Yes, I just published a little writing about entrepreneurship and a common rebuttal within higher education is, "Why are we involved in this entrepreneurship fad - sure, lots of people say they want to have their own business, but do you know how few people are actually "real" entrepreneurs responsible for significant job creation?"
When some people think of entrepreneurs, or entrepreneurial individuals, only legends like Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg come to mind, but ...
- Do small businesses and large organizations need people who are capable of solving yet-to-be-solved-problems and/or creating yet-to-be-created-solutions? Intrapreneurship
- Have we solved all of the humanitarian issues that matter to us? Positive Social Change
- What do you think of generous people who start organizations contributing to individuals, groups and/or society going beyond profit motives? Social Entrepreneurship
Skills and traits associated with entrepreneurship are transferrable and valuable in a variety of contexts.
You can easily find a plethora of popular and scholarly lists of entrepreneurial traits and skills. For example, according to a 1/6/16 article published by Inc. (link below), the five most important skills for an entrepreneur are: sales, planning, communication, customer focus and curiosity. An 11/26/13 article published by Forbes (link below) asserted the following "top skills" for entrepreneurs: resiliency, focus, investment for the long term, finding/managing people, selling, learning, self-reflection and self-reliance.
An article by David Siefert, of Sinclair Community College, available on the NACCE website (link below) lists the following 25 traits associated with entrepreneurs and I agree with him that the entrepreneur within each of us can be awakened ... this is an interdisciplinary opportunity for higher education to prepare our students, the workforce, for success in an ever-changing global economy:
1. Achievement Orientated
2. Ambitious
3. Business Acumen
4. Communicator (clear thinker and communicator)
5. Competitive
6. Creative
7. Critical Thinker
8. Customer Oriented
9. Decisive
10. Enthusiastic
11. Flexible
12. Focused (able to)
13. Goal Oriented
14. Implementer
15. Independent
16. Innovative
17. Learner (Continuous learning and experimenter)
18. Opportunistic
19. Passionate
20. Persistent
21. Problem Solver
22. Risk Taker (calculated)
23. Self-Confident
24. Self-Disciplined
25. Strategic Thinker
Who can be entrepreneurial? WE can.
David Siefert article available at NACCE:
http://www.nacce.com/news/35132/
Inc Article:
http://www.inc.com/murray-newlands/5-most-important-business-skills-every-entrepreneur-must-have.html
Forbes Article:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/aileron/2013/11/26/the-top-skills-every-entrepreneur-needs/
