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8 Patterns of Highly Effective Entrepreneurs

By Brent Bowers; Currency Doubleday, 2007


So you think you're an
entrepreneur? Do you have a
vision? Are you passionate about
this vision of yours? Do you believe
that you've just stumbled upon the
next biggest thing
since Microsoft? If
you do, then we
could, at the very
least, conclude that
you do possess a
c e r t a i n
entrepreneurial
trait. You, just like
all entrepreneurs,
think big. But you
aren't a certified
entrepreneur just
yet. There's more
to an entrepreneur
than just a big
dream or a grand
idea.
If anything, what distinguishes
entrepreneurs from the rest is their
drive to act and go for that dream.

They aren't just talkers. They are


movers. What sets them apart
further is how they move. Sure,
everyone has a dream and
everyone has their own way of
reaching their dreams,
but it's the when, why,
what and how
entrepreneurs act to
make their dreams
come true that makes
them who they are.
8 Patterns of Highly
E f f e c t i v e
Entrepreneurs dissects
the minds and habits of
some of today's
r e m a r k a b l e
entrepreneurs and
gives you an insider on
what it takes to be an
entrepreneur. If you find
these patterns in you, welcome to
the club.

read the summary

Inside This Book Summary:


The Big Idea
Seeing Beyond the Beyond
They are All Free Men
The Leader of the Band
Going Down the Line
Rolling With the Punches
Doggedness
A Natural High

Will This Really Work?


Failing Upward

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About the Author/s:


B r e n t
Bowers, a
longtime
s m a l l business
editor at The
N e w Yo r k
Times and
The Wall
Street Journal, is author of
The Eight Patterns of Highly
Effective Entrepreneurs,
now out in paperback
(Doubleday).
His column In the Hunt
scrutinizes the changing
world of small business and
the colorful characters who
inhabit it.

for author info

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Seeing Beyond the Beyond


First: Entrepreneurs have an aptitude for
spotting and seizing opportunities.
If you read the first pattern carefully, you'll
notice that this pattern has two elements in
it. First is spotting the opportunity and
second, seizing it. These are two entirely
different things. The first is seeing an
opportunity. The second is acting on the
first. Entrepreneurs always do both. They
see. They move.
Entrepreneurs have a gift for noticing things.
They see the extraordinary in the ordinary.
They are able to find opportunities that are
hidden in plain sight. To entrepreneurs,
there is no such thing as a problem. To them,
problems are opportunities just waiting to be
unlocked.
It's not so much about finding a solution that
makes one an entrepreneur. Anyone can
find a solution to any problem. What defines
an entrepreneur is his or her ability to find
unconventional solutions to ordinary
problems. Being unconventional means he
doesn't have to invent some new

About the Book:

Author: Brent Bowers


Publisher: Currency Doubleday
Date of Publication: 2007
ISBN: 978-0385515474
Number of Pages: 210 pages

8 Patterns of Highly Effective Entrepreneurs by Brent Bowers

technology. He just has to find an


innovative and creative way of doing
things. There is never one way of
addressing things for them. They are
always constantly looking at the same
things in different angles.

They are All Free Men


Second: Entrepreneurs have a
compulsion to be in charge and, tied to
that, they have a gift for leadership.
Entrepreneurs are loyal to one, and only
one, boss: themselves. They reject
authority. Sure they've all been employed
at some point in time in their lives and it was
most likely at that time that they affirmed
their need to run their own show. They just
can't stand taking orders from someone
else or work under a system that isn't
theirs.
Entrepreneurs want to be in charge. No,
they need to be in charge. This need is not
so much of a thirst for power; rather, it's a
cry for freedom. They need to have that
flexibility to do things their way and at their
pace. They want that freedom in controlling
their own lives, ergo, their own businesses.
This need to be in charge without being
power hungry highlights entrepreneurs'
ability to lead. Entrepreneurs are born
leaders. They lead by example and by
action. Their being ethical and honest
earns them respect. Moreover, they aren't
respected because of rank: They are
respected because of who they are.

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The Leader of the Band


Being the natural born leaders that they
are, entrepreneurs know how to inspire
their colleagues and employees.
Entrepreneurs make each person working
for them feel important. They hire good
people, give them enough breathing room
to perform their jobs well, and above all
else, treat them with respect. They value
loyalty, they listen, they mentor rather than
criticize.
The result: good karma. Everything comes
back to them two fold. First, because they
are such good leaders, people stay with
these entrepreneurs. Their companies
have very low attrition rates. People work
better with and for them.
These
entrepreneurs have a very productive
workforce.
Second, as a result of entrepreneurs being
good listeners, they learn a lot and are able
to apply these learnings to their
businesses.
As gracious as these entrepreneurs are,
they do know that they will not tolerate poor
performance. It's always a fair trade. As
much as they give to their employees, they
expect their employees to do their jobs
well.

Going Down the Line


Third: A history of innovative activities
dating back to childhood.

Then again, are entrepreneurs even made at


all? Can anyone be molded into
entrepreneurs or are entrepreneurs born
entrepreneurs?
There have been debates left and right about
the existence of a hereditary entrepreneurial
gene. As entrepreneurs might attest; it runs
in the blood. The antithesis however is that
it's the environment that one grows up in that
turns him or her into a full blooded
entrepreneur. Although science claims of no
such entrepreneurial gene, it does
acknowledge genetic predispositions to
certain behaviors that might be considered
entrepreneurial. The best example of this
hereditary trait for instance is high energy
levels.
These hereditary traits alone however do not
guarantee one's becoming as an
entrepreneur. And this is where the
environment comes into play. Children who
grow up with small-business role models,
encouraged to pursue creative activities, and
are instilled with a risk-taking mentality are
most likely to become entrepreneurs. On the
flipside, children who are born into a very safe
and secure environment, who are taught to
be wary of risks, are likely to opt for the peace
of mind a pay check brings.
Whatever the case, entrepreneurs are
definitely molded by experience. And their
turning into entrepreneurs often always
begins with their acquaintance to sales. All
entrepreneurs will have done some selling
during their youth. They loved it then and
continue to love it now. Entrepreneurs will
always have that passion for marking up
prices beyond all reason.

Entrepreneurs aren't made overnight.

8 Patterns of Highly Effective Entrepreneurs by Brent Bowers

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Rolling With the Punches


Fourth: A talent for improvisation.
Entrepreneurs are nimble. They can
instantaneously adapt to any given situation
at any given point in time. That is their
competitive advantage. Their being quick
on their feet, their tolerance for ambiguity
and willingness to just go for it, coupled with
the absence of a higher authority, allows for
split-second business decisions. Since 'no'
or 'can't' is never an option for
entrepreneurs, anything is possible with
them; and that's what gets them their
clients.
Entrepreneurs show single-mindedness
and open-mindedness at the same time.
They have their eyes dead-set on their
targets, their goals, but are also ready to
change course in a moment's notice should
the facts prove this to be the better
alternative.
Their innate agility however nests a
paradox in itself. While in the start-up
stages of their business, this flexibility in
running their businesses is what keeps
these companies ahead of the game. But as
the businesses grow, they become more
structured, more bureaucratic and slower to
react to changes and to the needs of their
consumers. At this point, entrepreneurs
must figure out a way to either stay nimble
or get the best offer for what they've started,
bail out, and start a new venture altogether.

Doggedness

Entrepreneurs are go-getters. They are


energetic, indefatigable, patient, persistent,
and persevering in reaching their goals. They
never give up-- they just keep on charging
along, full speed ahead.
There is no such thing as time off for an
entrepreneur. The moment an idea (and
they're always looking for one) hits them,
their off to work. Entrepreneurs just can't sit
still, they quickly get bored and impatient with
inactivity and the slightest resemblance to a
routine.
Being focused is far from being stubborn.
Entrepreneurs know where to draw the line
between faith in their product and mere
obsession to a lost cause.

About the Author/s:


Brent Bowers, a longtime
small-business editor at The
New York Times and The
Wall Street Journal, is
author of The Eight Patterns
of Highly Effective
Entrepreneurs, now out in
paperback (Doubleday).
His column In the Hunt
scrutinizes the changing world of small
business and the colorful characters who
inhabit it.
To know more about the author, go to:
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/ti
mestopics/people/b/brent_bowers/index.h
tml

Fifth: Fierce drive, energy and tenacity.

8 Patterns of Highly Effective Entrepreneurs by Brent Bowers

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A Natural High
Sixth: Enthusiasm that borders on the
delusional for a product.
Entrepreneurs believe in their products,
ardently. They talk about them as if they
were their children. They have faith that
this idea of theirs, this product, this service,
will take the world by storm.
The only thing that will limit just how big a
product can be seemingly lies in the
entrepreneur's own estimation.
Entrepreneurs never ask themselves if
their brainchild will make it big. Big is
already a given to them. But are they
thinking big enough? That's the million
dollar question.
It may seem that entrepreneurs have their
head in the clouds when it comes to how
highly they think of their products. But
make no mistake, they still have their feet
firmly planted on the ground. True they
may be a wee bit delusional in thinking
their companies will someday make it to
the Fortune 500 but that's just really part of
it: you can't reach the stars if you don't
even fantasize about reaching it. Behind all
this dreaming and big talk, entrepreneurs
will always have done their research for
their products and studies of their markets.
This justifies all their dreams of grandeur.

Will This Really Work?


Seventh: Unfailing pragmatism.
This may sound contradictory to

8 Patterns of Highly Effective Entrepreneurs by Brent Bowers

entrepreneurs being ever so optimistic about


their product, but as a check and balance to
their big dreams, entrepreneurs are
pragmatic. They constantly are their own
devil's advocate. And just as much as they
say this is going to be big they also keep
asking themselves is this really going to
work?
Entrepreneurs are practical. Their solutions,
inventions and innovations may always be
unique and surprising but are, more than
anything else, practical nonetheless. That's
why they are such big hits.
Some might contest that pragmatism goes
against the idea of entrepreneur's being risk
takers. Actually, their being calculating risk
takers supports their being pragmatic.
Entrepreneurs do gamble but never do they
go on reckless gambles. This is where their
being pragmatic kicks in: by the time they
take the plunge and give it all they got,
entrepreneurs would have evaluated the
risks, the probabilities, the opportunity costs
a hundred times over.

Failing Upward
Eighth: A knack for viewing setbacks as
opportunities.
Failure is essential to the success of
entrepreneurs. That's because to them,
failing is just another opportunity for learning.
Entrepreneurs know how to step back and
analyze what went wrong. They then get back
on their feet and charge back into the game
with a better appreciation for things, ready to
take on the next challenge.

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Entrepreneurs take pride in their failures.


Well not the exact failure itself, rather their
rise back from the deepest recesses of their
blunders. The harder the fall, the better the
story: It's more icing on the cake to just
recount how well managed such a setback.

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