Do You Have the Personality to Manage a Startup?
你具備創(chuàng)業(yè)的品質(zhì)嗎?

A while back, when a startup founder mentioned to me that he wasn’t sure he had the personality to be an entrepreneur, I realized how important that insight was. My first thought is that if you are more annoyed than energized by expert advice, team suggestions, and customer input, then you should probably avoid this line of work.
前段時(shí)間,有個(gè)創(chuàng)業(yè)者向我提及,說他不確定自己是否具有成為企業(yè)家的品質(zhì),這讓我意識(shí)到,領(lǐng)悟到這一點(diǎn)很重要。我的第一反應(yīng)是如果你覺得專家意見、團(tuán)隊(duì)建議、客戶意見這些給你帶來的煩惱多過激勵(lì),那么你真的應(yīng)該躲開這條工作路線。

Actually, it’s more complicated than that, but that’s a good start. After working with entrepreneurs for almost a decade now, I have developed a good “radar” to quickly recognize mentalities that will likely pass the test of investors, employees, and customers.
實(shí)際情況遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)沒這么簡單,不過這是一個(gè)好的開始。經(jīng)過與企業(yè)家一起工作了差不多有十年,現(xiàn)在的我給自己安裝了一個(gè)“好雷達(dá)”,能夠迅速判斷出哪些品性有可能通過投資者、雇主和顧客的測試。

But it’s easier for me to look in from the outside than it is for you to look out. So here is a list of mentality characteristics which I believe are absolutely necessary for you as an entrepreneur to see in yourself. On the other hand, if you see any of these causing you stress and discomfort, you probably won’t be happy in the role of entrepreneur:
不過,比起對(duì)于我來說很容易的自省吾身,創(chuàng)業(yè)者的客觀評(píng)判就要難得多。所以我列出了一些我認(rèn)為成為企業(yè)家很重要的心理品質(zhì)。另一方面,如果你發(fā)現(xiàn)下面的這些品質(zhì)給你帶來壓力或者不適,那么你很有可能無法從企業(yè)家的角色里發(fā)現(xiàn)樂趣。

[en1. ]You enjoy being the visionary leader. Being able to envision what the business and the industry will be like in years to come is a skill that can guarantee that you will be around for the long haul. What makes most success stories in business is not totally reinventing the wheel, but leading the charge to make the current wheel better.[/en]

享受作為一個(gè)有遠(yuǎn)見的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人的狀態(tài)。能夠設(shè)想自己的事業(yè)在未來幾年里會(huì)發(fā)展到怎樣的狀態(tài),這是保證你的事業(yè)能長期發(fā)展的一個(gè)技能。大多數(shù)商業(yè)成功故事之所以會(huì)成功,并不是白費(fèi)力氣做重復(fù)工作,而是帶頭沖鋒讓現(xiàn)有的事業(yè)變得更好。

2.?Sometimes you are creative, sometimes logical. A successful entrepreneur has to come up with innovative ideas, but also turn them into a value-creating profitable business. That requires good amounts of both “l(fā)eft brain” and “right brain” activities, with enough common sense to find the balance.
創(chuàng)意性和邏輯思維并存。 一個(gè)成功的企業(yè)家需要提出有創(chuàng)造性的想法,也要具有將想法變成能創(chuàng)造價(jià)值的盈利產(chǎn)業(yè)的能力,這就同時(shí)需要大量“左腦”和“右腦”活動(dòng),另外還要有足夠的常識(shí)找到它們的平衡點(diǎn)。

3.?Risk energizes you. To really enjoy the ride in the world of entrepreneurship, you need to be able to sustain yourself outside of your comfort zone and have a sense of adventure. Startups never ever go as you anticipated. This is why you need to be ready to go “off the script” and improvise, and enjoy the thrill of victory when it works.
風(fēng)險(xiǎn)激勵(lì)創(chuàng)業(yè)。要在企業(yè)家精神的世界里享受旅程,你需要跳出自己的舒適區(qū)域并且持之以恒,還要有一種探險(xiǎn)的精神。創(chuàng)業(yè)從來就不會(huì)按你的預(yù)期發(fā)展,這也是為什么你需要隨時(shí)準(zhǔn)備扔掉劇本即興演出的原因。如果你能做到,那請(qǐng)享受勝利帶來的快感吧。

4.?Actively seek others input. The quicker you learn not to take it personally (and it’s hard when it’s your business and your creation), the more successful you will be. You will always come across people that will criticize you, no matter how great or valuable your product or service may be.
主動(dòng)尋求他人意見。越快學(xué)會(huì)不要太過介意別人的批評(píng)(當(dāng)然因?yàn)槭亲约旱氖聵I(yè)和創(chuàng)意,完全不在意很困難),你就會(huì)越成功。不論你的產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)多偉大多有價(jià)值,你都會(huì)一直遇到批評(píng)你的人。

5.?Motivated yet patient. When you start a business, you need to have the frame of mind that this is what you want to do for the rest of your life. Most people want financial freedom, but they want results immediately, and that is not the case 99% of the time. Most successful entrepreneurs understand that overnight success takes years.
要有積極性,也要有耐心。開始一項(xiàng)事業(yè)的時(shí)候,你要有明確的心態(tài):這就是我下半輩子想要做的事情。大部分人想要財(cái)務(wù)自由,但是他們馬上就要看到成效,大部分的情況下這都是不可能的。最成功的企業(yè)家們明白:一夜成功也是需要很多年時(shí)間的努力的。

6.?Jack of all trades. When running a business, you'll be doing a little bit of everything. You have to be good but not an expert at everything you do, and you have to know when to be flexible and when to ask for help. If you are one to specialize in just one thing, then running a business might not be for you.
百事通。經(jīng)營企業(yè),你得什么都會(huì)一點(diǎn)。你不需要事事都是專家,但是必須事事都能做好,不要學(xué)會(huì)靈活多變,知道什么時(shí)候需求幫助。如果你是只能專門研究經(jīng)營一件事的人,那經(jīng)營企業(yè)可能不適合你。

If you don't fit into everyone’s personal view of an entrepreneur's mentality, please don't be totally discouraged. Winning businesses have been started by people of every type. Yet overall, the facts are that about two-thirds of startups fail, so think hard before you ignore warning signs.
如果你發(fā)現(xiàn)自己并不符合大多數(shù)人對(duì)企業(yè)家品質(zhì)的個(gè)人意見,請(qǐng)不要覺得非常氣餒。每一種人都有可能創(chuàng)業(yè)并取得成功。但總的說來,約有2/3的創(chuàng)業(yè)失敗這一事實(shí)擺在眼前,所以在無視這些警告信號(hào)之前要好好考慮清楚。

I’m convinced that if entrepreneurs spent half as much time evaluating themselves and what makes them happy, as they do writing business plans, and visiting with attorneys and accountants, they would be winners far more often.
如果企業(yè)家們能用寫商業(yè)計(jì)劃和拜訪律師會(huì)計(jì)一半的時(shí)間,來評(píng)估下自己和衡量下什么能給他們帶來樂趣,我相信他們成為贏家的機(jī)會(huì)要多得多。

Finally, don’t forget that the most important mentality aspect is to always do something that you enjoy. Life is too short to be going to work every day unhappy. Beyond that, I believe success is a state of mind derived from confidence, self esteem, and what you really want in life. How strongly do you really want to manage a startup?
最后不要忘記,最重要的心理品質(zhì)是要一直做自己喜歡做的事。生命太過短暫,何必每天不開心地工作。除此之外我相信,成功是一種來源于自信自尊和生活真正需求的心理狀態(tài)。問問自己,你到底有多想創(chuàng)業(yè)呢?