By Kevin L. Baker, MBA
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The Realisation of My Personal Business Mindset
I was raised working in a family printing business founded by my father. Entrepreneurial blood runs in my veins. Since earning my Bachelors degree, I have worked for public and private companies. After starting out in middle management in my early career, I progressed to executive roles as CFO then President (the American equivalent of a Managing Director). I have also been an entrepreneur starting a non-profit (now run by my oldest son), and two for-profit businesses in my lifetime.
Having worked in both entrepreneurial and corporate environments, I know that my greatest happiness and performance occurs when I work in an environment where my personal basic business mindset matches that of the organisation where I work. I have realised that I work best in a business environment where the entrepreneur mindset I learned from my father (and genetics) is combined with just enough structure to have efficient and productive systems on board.
Now, let’s ask an important question: Are you more entrepreneurial or corporate minded?
You need to work with people who share your mindset, think like you do, and appreciate your business mindset in order to be happy and reach your peak performance.
The environment you work in is fundamentally either ENTREPRENEUR (E) OR CORPORATE (C). Neither is bad–just different. Are you on the right team? A good match between a person and where they work occurs when you ask, “Am I right for this organisation, and is this organisation right for me?” The answer is found by looking at the contrasts between the E and C mindset.
The Two Fundamental Business Mindsets Contrasted
Am I an “E” or a “C” in my basic business mindset? Look at the following dominant characteristics of each mindset, and choose which one you are.
- Change (E) or Stability (C)
- E sees an environment of change as good and normal. Change makes things better and brings improvement. To an E, change equals growth. Cs may think things are stable, but stability is an illusion. Markets in the tech age are dynamic and changing. We must learn to live with ambiguity. Nothing is sure forever.
- C sees change as a threat to stability, a risk, and disruptive. Change must be incremental, carefully planned, and managed.
- Personal (E) or Impersonal (C)
- E remains focused on relationships with customers and clients as the most important thing whether they are truly entrepreneur startups or mature companies. A certain segment of buyers prefer to do business with companies that keep it personal. They do not like being treated as “just a number.” If you perceive that quality is always sacrificed for quantity, and that deep relationships with clients and customers are the priority, you are an E.
- C sees a meaningful personal connection as costly. The cost of growth is providing more transactions to more customers or clients. A positive customer experience and lower prices to more people is the best model. While relationships will not be able to be as deep as in an entrepreneurial business, the population of people seeking lower prices is more than those wanting the deep, personal relationship that a small or young business provides.
- Flexible (E) or Fixed (C)
- E sees being flexible in the approach to business as what it takes to thrive, keep things relevant and interesting so people remain engaged, and the wellspring of continuous improvement.
- C sees a fixed environment as fair, reasonable, and the only way to prevent chaos and division.
- Do (E) or Study (C)
- E business mindset is to learn by doing. Trial and error will produce iterations that further learning.
- C mindset is to research and study, run focus groups, and require careful project planning to conserve resources by getting it right the first time.
- Windscreens (E) or Rear-View Mirror (C)
- E business mindset is a focus on where we are right now. To use the analogy of driving a car, the focus is looking forward through the windscreen, not where we have been in the rear-view mirror. Rewards come by being resourceful and producing results right now in the great game of business.
- C business mindset is oriented to “the rear view mirror.” It rewards seniority, loyalty to the company, the status of prior achievement, and how you play the game.
Why Your Business Mindset Matters
The best combination for your personal achievement is when you match your business mindset with the environment you work in. Am I right for the company and is the company right for me? If you are an E, you belong on Team E. If you are a C, work on Team C. If like me, you are a hybrid E/C, then you will thrive on Team E/C.
Both you and your company or organisation will be happier and more successful by considering business mindset when job seeking, hiring, and evaluating the growth and performance of a company.
Keep climbing to the Peak of Potential!™
Kevin
Kevin is CEO of Kevin Baker Inc., a boutique consulting firm with offices in Sydney and New York specializing in exit and succession planning, acquisition consulting, business sales, and capital funding strategies. He is also a Group Chair with The Executive Connection (TEC) which has been providing CEOs, executives and business owners with professionally facilitated, private peer group meetings led by expert executive coaches and mentors for over 30 years.