The stereotypical image of the entrepreneur is a kind of energetic, self-confident and daring narcissist who can sell snow in the Antarctic, bewitch a oligarch in the elevator, and open any VIP-doors with his foot. Of course, statistically, the percentage of such people in the population of entrepreneurs, too, but they are not the main part, and, rather, inclined to adventurism on the edge or outside the law. Most founders are located in a very wide range of values on the Curiosity-Cautionary, Organized-Haotic, Empathy-Rational, Nervousness-Extravert and Introvert-Extravert axes. Even within the same IT industry there is a wide range of psychotypes of entrepreneurs, let alone real estate, investment banking, energy supply and clean-tech. In my business therapy practice I constantly meet founders who break the above stereotype.
Why is this so? My hypothesis is that to create a growing and profitable business, especially in emerging markets or new industries, it is not necessary to have a stunning competitive advantage, but only to make fewer mistakes than the closest competitor. If you compare yourself to Jeff Bezos, Ilona Musk, or Naval Ravikant, it is easy to get discouraged, quit the business, and go to a monastery. But in reality, each of us is probably competing against the guys in the other league, not them. When I fought at the European Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championships, I knew that Gordon Ryan, currently the No. 1 athlete in the world, wouldn’t come out against me on the mat. But that didn’t make my defeat any less offensive or injury-prone, nor did it make my hard-won gold medal worthless.
That is why in business, more often than it is commonly thought, it is not charisma, creativity and proactivity that are important, but what is called judgment - the ability to make sensible guesses about a situation and to make considered decisions about what to do next. The technology available to everyone only adds to the importance of “judgment” because today every decision you make has a huge leverage that can multiply the effect, positive or negative. If you’ve managed to protect yourself and your business from catastrophic mistakes, make fewer blunders and extract valuable meaning from them more quickly, it’s only a matter of time before the next low tide reveals which of your competitors have bathed naked, while your perfectly equipped business crosses the winning finish line.
Yours sincerely,
-Alexander
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”Who are you and what do you do?"
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.
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