SmallBizResource Blog -- Startups

What's Lurking Beneath The Entrepreneurial Surface May Scare You

Posted by Gayle Kesten Tuesday, Jan 13, 2009, 04:08 PM ET

Before you lament about today's batch of juvenile delinquents, take heart: They just may become tomorrow's entrepreneurs.

That's what Harvard Business School psychology professor emeritus Abraham Zaleznik found in his research, anyway. In this CNN article, Zaleznik says, "Entrepreneurs tend to have a singular weakness that allows them to do things without checking their conscience. Juvenile delinquents act and then try to sort things out afterward. I think entrepreneurs have this tendency."

Nice spin if you have a troubled teen. Some other adjectives used to describe entrepreneurs include stubborn, delusionally optimistic, creative, fearless, and ignorant.

So what exactly is the problem (other than repelling long-lasting relationships)? Those traits get in the way of pulling the plug on an idea that's not going anywhere. In fact, knowing when to quit is the toughest question out there for entrepreneurs, says inventor Dean Kamen, whose creations include the Segway scooter and Slingshot water purifier.

Of course that's hard. But delusionally optimistic? Kinda harsh. How about committed? Passionate? Relentless? I recently interviewed an entrepreneur for an upcoming Wednesday's Woman piece, and she likened her business to a baby. Those are pretty strong ties.

If you subscribe to the dark psyche theory, psychologists are going to be in business for a very long time: Employment among businesses with fewer than 50 employees fell by 281,000 in December alone, according to ADP's most recent Employment Report, suggesting more people will resort to their creativity to made a buck. Similarly, Small Business Labs predicts the small-business marketplace will crowd with startups in the coming year.

Think you have the right stuff to be an entrepreneur? Take CNN's one-minute quiz, then let me know the results. I scored a 5, which translates to: "You have entrepreneurial tendencies."

After reading the CNN article, I'm not so sure that's something I want to brag about.

Startups