It struck me, listening to the latest reports on each Middle Eastern domino erupting into civil protest, that revolution closely parallels the efforts of entrepreneurism. The traits, purpose and path of a successful, well conceived revolutionary mirror many of the same qualities found in an entrepreneur. In my book, I.D.E.A. to Exit: An Entrepreneurial Journey, I discuss how the idea is the central building block for the genesis of any new venture. I convert idea into an acronym to describe those entrepreneurial qualities and compare them in this article to the birth of a revolution.
The I.D.E.A. represents qualities required through each phase of entrepreneurial growth (ideation, start up, running, exit), and they are especially significant during start up – or when launching a revolution.
I – Innovation (the substance of an idea or a revolution)
“Just as energy is the basis of life itself, and ideas the source of innovation, so is innovation the vital spark of all human change, improvement and progress” Ted Levitt, Harvard Business School
The start of any successful venture is through the awareness of an innovative idea. The innovation is what differentiates your efforts from what may be in place today or what may have been tried in the past. The innovative idea is the nucleolus of a movement and it guides everyone’s efforts toward a single goal that is visible and achievable in the minds of all who embrace the plan. We have been taught disruptive innovation by economist Joseph Schumpeter*. It is the positive outcome of a new model, technology or method that actually destroys the old way of doing things. Antiquated businesses close or, in this comparison, governments collapse and new regimes grow explosively.
Don’t confuse an entrepreneur with just any business owner. Business owner does not equal entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs set out to create something that has not been created before. They take substantial risk because they have no history to follow or compare. Revolutionaries follow that same untested entrepreneurial path. Sure revolutions have happened throughout history but they are all unique. A government is being changed into something it has never been before. It may be based off of an existing model, but nonetheless, it is unchartered and unpredictable. Its success will only come about through careful planning and preparation.
Look at the simultaneous examples currently taking place in the Middle East. Each nation has a unique: make up, history, direction, reason, stakeholders, values, purpose, etc. Failed efforts, both in business and in revolution, often emerge from raw emotion or unplanned spontaneous reaction reaching a tipping point catalyst.
Individuals who long to own or start a business often reach a tipping point; they can’t wait any longer and they force the issue. They buy a franchise or chase an idea spontaneously just to finally do it. They fail to find their innovative point of differentiation. In revolution, sometimes forces collide at just the right moment to spur an overthrow. However, coordination, planning and vision of what life is like after the overthrow is not clearly mapped out and the effort fails or results in prolonged civil divide.
D – Desire (the emotion required to execute an idea or revolution)
“It sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents.” Eric Hoffer
Let’s call the process during a revolution start up. The founders and followers exude tremendous desire to accomplish what they have determined they will do – overthrow or change the government. This desire equates to passion and purpose. The cause and end result takes top priority over family and themselves. A cause they will die for. Now starting a business may not be as extreme, but it certainly requires a prioritized level of desire that often supersedes everything else – hopefully only for a temporary basis.
Further, desire exemplified by entrepreneurs and revolutionaries turn ordinary men into extraordinary men. They are able to draft or enlist individuals, resources and means to accomplish their goal. They evolve skills and talents through sure tenacity. Obstacles are creatively eliminated or turned into assets as the movement spreads and envelops anything in its way. Look at how communication sources were blocked in several of these revolting nations and the revolutionaries had to be creative in finding a way to get their message out to followers and the rest of the world.
E – Effort (the physical required in startup or for a revolution)
“The bitter and the sweet come from the outside, the hard from within, from one’s own efforts.” Albert Einstein
The physical construction of a new business or overthrow of a government, whether mental exertion or actual labor, requires an investment in effort that goes far beyond normal levels. The efforts of the entrepreneur or revolutionary combined with desire vastly exceed those of the average man. Each start with nothing and very rapidly pull in and find resources to create something new – in the shortest timeframe possible. Sweat equity, long hours, sacrifice become the hallmarks of each.
A – Ability (the skill required of the entrepreneur or the revolutionary)
“A man of ability and the desire to accomplish something can do anything.” Donald Kircher
Leaders of business or revolution have certain skills, develop others and enlist what’s missing. They have the ability to paint a picture, a vision, of what is to be accomplished and they establish a reason as to why a sacrifice is being made. The successful examples have a strategy to follow and exit plan in mind. They find ways to scale their efforts and lead. They don’t get caught up in the fighting and front line work. They assume a post to observe, guide, adjust and direct.
Successful traits of each leader mirror one another. They each must passionately express their cause to anyone who will listen to enlist their support. Humility becomes central, as the cause is the greater good and is the complete focus – not the individual leading the effort. Personal sacrifice is required and serves as the culture which all participants embrace in order to achieve the goal.
Sometimes leaders become dictators, puppets to outside forces (funding or influential third party governments) or run out of steam once the excitement of the startup revolution is gone. Do they have the skill set to lead once the objective is complete or have the foresight and insight to know when to transition power to seasoned and experienced management?
The financial markets have reacted with great volatility to these revolts and protests. They are like outsiders observing an entrepreneur’s attempt and guessing at the uncertainty of the outcome. People often outside the start up don’t have the same faith as the entrepreneur in his efforts. Outsiders may mock or feel the entrepreneur is a fool for his attempt and the same may be true of revolutionaries. And that is where people grossly under estimate the power of the idea. For the most part, in the Middle East, these uprisings have been led by the people, for the people. Their demands are virtuous. We should embrace these entrepreneurial efforts of change. As disruptive as they may be, history has proven that something far better can result. An entire region is poised for remarkable democratic change, something that our nation wished to architect for decades. An idea has merged with an opportunity. For individuals, the right situational factors to activate change have combined with the idea and the opportunity.
This entrepreneurial revolution was activated – by one man! Learn how, Mohammed Bouazizi, sparked a revolution that was actually based on his own entrepreneurial desire for life, liberty, justice and the pursuit of happiness. I hope as Americans we can see the parallels to our own story of independence through the sacrifice of this one man and the entrepreneurial efforts of a nation to capitalize on his cause.
Learn more at: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2043557,00.html
* Schumpeter drew upon the term “creative destruction”, borrowed from the work of economists Mikhail Bakunin, Friedrich Nietzsche, Werner Sombart’s War and Capitalism.
